A Mile in My Shoes
by BloodPokemon101
Summary: Another day at the library. Another day without a lead in figuring out to return Ed and Al back to normal. Although, the day wasn't a total loss as an unfinished alchemic research notes catches Al's attention, and the gang decide to check it out to study it. But what they don't to know is that notes remained incomplete for a reason.
1. Jealousy

**(A/N: This was supposed to be a little Fullmetal Alchemist/Bleach one shot I decided to make for a challenge. However, I was too late to submit. It ended up being **_**way **_**longer than I thought. You can consider it a non canon side story to 'The Flower Princess and the Alchemist'. Or if you want to think of it as its own separate story, that's fine, too. Just wanted to say that **_**none **_**of this happens in 'The Flower Princess and the Alchemist'. This is all non canon material. Now, the challenge is the 'Show Me The Love: Proposal'. I'm going to give cookies to whoever can guess the two proposals that would prop up in this one shot. Well, enjoy!)**

* * *

Jealousy

Orihime hummed to herself, currently in the midst of reading a fantasy and romance book. It was a book about a warrior princess who's home was destroyed by an evil warlord, and now she's off seeking revenge for her parents' murderer. During her journey, she meets a handsome, traveling merchant and the two of them began traveling together and become romantically involved with each other along the way. It was a good book filled with action, adventure, fantasy, romance, drama, and a little bit of comedy.

She heard a tiny giggle resound beside her. Her gray eyes glanced over to see Nina reading a small book with a huge grin on her face, giggling, gleefully to herself. If the ginger haired girl remembered correctly, she was reading a book children going on a small adventure. It was kid friendly, comedy book. It was obvious that she was laughing because something funny happened, which made her smile that the little brown haired girl was enjoying herself, despite being in a boring, old library as she claimed earlier.

Did she forget to mention that she was currently in the Central Library? After discovering that the Philosopher's Stone's made up of thousands of human lives, Edward and Alphonse firmly decided to forgo using the stone. Now they were searching for a more humane method to retrieve their lost bodies.

Speaking of the boys, Orihime set her book down on the table with it opened and faced down that way she won't miss her place on the book. The chair produced a small creaky noise as she scooted back.

Nina glanced up when she noticed the auburn haired climbing out of her chair. Lowering her book, she tilted her in confusion. "Where are you going, big sis?" she asked, innocently.

She smiled at the little girl. "I'm going to go check on Eddie and Al. Be right back, okay?"

"Okay." The brown haired girl eagerly went back to reading the book in hand.

The ginger haired girl walked through the sections of the library. They should be in the restricted section where all the government's most dangerous and sensitive information lays, especially alchemic research. All these were only for valuable and accessible to State Alchemists and very few people in the military, most likely the higher ups.

There! She finally spotted the two of them each with a book in hand. Edward had a contemplative, concentrated look on face as he read through. His blond eyebrows were furrowed and he wore a deep scowl. It was hard to gauge Alphonse's expression, being the seven feet tall suit of armor that he is, but she guessed focused in his reading as Ed.

"Did you guys find what you're looking for yet?" Orihime asked.

In response, Edward growled in frustration, harshly yet quietly closing his book. "No," he hissed, angrily. "I can't find any clue on how we should proceed to getting our bodies. Now that the stone's a bust, we need a new method."

She shot him a reassuring grin. "Don't worry! I'm sure you'd figure something out. You're a smart guy, Eddie. You just need to be a little more patient."

"Well, patience isn't exactly my strongest suit," he grumbled. He placed the book back on its original spot on the self. "Al!" he softly called his younger brother. "Find another?"

"Huh?" Across the hall, Alphonse glanced up, confusingly from his book. "Uh, no. Not exactly," he started, his tone unsure.

Ed arched a brow, hands on his hips in puzzlement. "What do you mean by 'not exactly'?"

Al glanced back at his brother with uncertainty. "I found something interesting about alchemy based on human biology. Maybe it could give us a clue on how to get our bodies back."

Both Edward's and Orihime's interests were piqued.

"How so?" the blond alchemist asked, stepping forward. He peeked over his little brother's shoulder to take a glimpse at the opened book he was holding.

"Well, I should warn you, brother, that the research seems kind of incomplete. It talks about how to reconstruct and manipulate the body's natural cell regeneration," he explains. "Then it goes on about the analysis of the human mind, body, and soul before cutting off. I think something may have happened to the alchemist who researched this before he could finish. What do you think, Ed? Should we study it and figure out the missing puzzle?"

Edward held chin between his forefinger and thumb, deep in thought. "I don't see why not. What the hell? Might be worth a shot. We got nothing better anyway."

Orihime smiled, cheerfully. "So, you guys found a lead?" she questioned, joyfully.

"I won't say it's a lead," Ed corrected, scratching the side of his head. "But it's a start."

The auburn haired girl still felt genuinely happy for the two. Anything was better than nothing, right? A confused frown then took shape across her lips when she felt a small tug on her sleeve. Her gray eyes glanced down to see Nina looking at her with wide, blue eyes and a small pout.

"Nina, what's wrong?" she asked, voice laced with concern.

With a saddened expression, the young, brown haired girl placed her tiny hand on her stomach. "Big sister, I'm hungry," she muttered, sporting a sad frown. As if on cue, her small growl emanated from her stomach. "Can we go home and eat now?"

Gray orbs peered at the clock that hung overhead. It was already past six. Wow! Was that late already? And she still had to prepare dinner. They had no time to shop. Good thing they still have some leftover ingredients in the fridge at the hotel they are staying. She could just use that to whip up a quick meal. Maybe some curry, her special cheese, stuffed mashed potato and apple bun wrapped in bacon, and some pickled vegetables should suffice.

She directed her gaze back at the Elric brothers. "Nina's right. We should head home now. It's getting pretty late, and I still need to prepare dinner."

Ed breathed out a deep and exhausted sigh. He knew both Nina and Orihime were right. It was getting pretty late. They've been reading and studying at the library for hours, but they barely came up with squat. And now that Nina's brought it up, he was getting hungry, too!

"Guess, we should be going home. I'm starving, too!" he grumbled, holding his own growling stomach with a comically defeated expression on his face.

The ginger haired girl giggled. "Let's go home then, so I could make dinner for all of us! I pretty sure Winry wanting to eat as well, if she hasn't gone out for a bite yet."

"Sounds good," Alphonse agreed. "We should just check this book out and study it at the hotel, brother."

Edward nodded his head in understanding.

"Then can we check book I'm reading, too, Big Brother Ed?" Nina asked, innocently.

Ed arched a brow. "What book?"

The little girl ran off, leaving the three teens momentarily puzzled. She came back a few seconds later, proudly holding up the adventure and comedy book for young kids she was previously reading.

"This one. I really like it!" she exclaimed with childlike glee.

After heading to the checkout counter to, well, checkout the two books. The group of four heading back to the hotel they were staying to prepare for dinner.

* * *

Orihime hummed a happy tone to herself, heating up the rice, so the water could boil. Now, she just needed to cut up the potatoes and apples for her cheese, stuffed mashed potato and apple, bacon wrapped, hot bun.

A pair of tiny feet dashed across the short distance between the living room to the kitchen. "Big sis, can I help you?" Nina asked, eagerly.

The auburn haired girl grinned down at her. "You want to help, Nina? I thought you were still reading that book."

The young girl shook her head. "I got tired of reading. Can I help?"

The healer pondered this for a moment, her mind processing on what she hasn't done yet that's safe enough for Nina to do. Dinner would get done much faster if she had help.

"Sure, Nina! I need to cut up some of the apples. Can you do that?"

The brown haired girl brightened at that. "Uh, huh!" she mumbled out, excitedly.

"Good. Go grab your apron."

Nina happily nodded her head, gleefully grabbing her small, pink apron from the rack at the far side of the wall. She enthusiastically threw the apron over her head. After several moments of fumbling with tying the note, she finally managed to do it all on her own.

"Big sis, I'm ready!" Nina chirped, excitedly awaiting for instructions.

Orihime giggled at the adorable expression on the brown haired girl's face. "Wait there, Nina."

The little girl simply nodded, that beaming, childish smile never leaving her face.

The ginger haired quickly grabbed a couple of apples out of the fridge. She quickly turned on the sink, so she could rinse the apples under the cold water. She carefully proceeded to pull the skin of the apples and cut them into four pieces, softly humming a small tone to herself.

"Can you finish cutting the rest of the apples, Nina?" Orihime politely asked the young girl.

The child beamed, happily. "Yes!" she cheered. She made grabbing motions with her hands. The auburn haired girl handed her the knife, which she graciously took.

Orihime snatched the small stool from the corner by the fridge, and placed it underneath the counter. Nina instantly and carefully climbed on top of it, so she could reach the apples laying on top of the counter.

"Cut them into very tiny pieces," she instructed. "Be careful though. Try not to cut herself," the older girl warned.

"Okay! I won't!"

The older girl smiled, a happy sigh escaping her lips. "Okay. Now, since that's settled, guess I'll start cutting up some beef, carrots, tomatoes, and onions for the curry," she muttered to herself, already digging through the fridge for the ingredients.

* * *

Meanwhile, back in the living room, Edward and Alphonse were going over the alchemic research book that the latter picked up. They were intensively rereading and thoroughly analyzing the contents of the book.

"What do you think it means by 'the moon on the water', brother?" Al asked, puzzled. He couldn't make heads or tails of that statement.

Ed was busy recreating the Transmutation Circle that featured in one of the pages of the book by drawing out on a piece of paper. He also drew a picture of the moon. He was well versed that the moon was a representation of 'female' in alchemic terms. But is that what the text is saying? Or is there a different meaning?

"I don't know, Al," Ed grunted in frustration, tapping his pen against his chin, repeatedly. "This is uncompleted work, right? If the moon has to do with one half of the equation, then maybe the sun, which is the moon's opposite and also represents 'male', has to do with the other half?" he reflected, arms crossed.

"When it's talking about water, is it talking about the chemical makeup of it, perhaps?" Al inquired. "We know that water is made up of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom."

"That still doesn't give us a clue on what by what it means by 'moon on the water'," the blond alchemist retorted.

The younger Elric deflated at that.

Deciphering these notes and their meaning was so damn hard.

* * *

Orihime smiled as diligently stuffed the batter for the cheesecake she made into the over, and set the heat to three hundred and fifty degrees.

"Big sis, I'm done chopping the potatoes!" Nina announced, happily.

Hearing the young girl's gleeful report, she eyed the bowl filled with thinly diced apples and potatoes. "Good job, Nina!" she congratulated the little girl, causing a tiny, bright smile to spread across her face at the praise. The ginger haired girl wanted to affectionately pat her head, but her hands were too messy.

She opened the drawer and pulled out a potato smasher. She let out a surprised 'huh' when she heard Ed's yell of frustration. "Here, Nina, use this to smash the potatoes and apples," she instructed the brown haired girl, handing her the kitchen implement. "I'm going to go check on the boys."

Nina nodded her, getting to work on clumsily yet carefully smashing the contents in the bowl with a cheery grin on her face. Orihime smiled at how happy and adorable the young girl was while she helped her cook dinner.

Rinsing her hands real quick under the sink and swiftly drying them off, she made her way over to the boys. She stared somewhat bewildered and concerned when she eyed Edward repeatedly banging his head on the table and Alphonse slumped over in defeat.

"What's going on?" she asked, tentatively and confused.

"It's this damn line!" Ed growled, pulling at his hair in annoyance. "What the hell is it suppose to mean?"

"We know that 'moon' means female and water is made up of a couple of hydrogen and oxygen atoms," Al added, equally distressed. "By how does that relate to 'the moon on the water'?"

"Hmm, maybe you guys are just overthinking it," Orihime inputted, thoughtfully.

The Elric brothers looked at her with interest.

"What do you mean, Orihime?" the suit of armor asked, curiously.

Flushing, the auburn haired girl began sputtering. "Well, maybe it isn't something literal or written scientific terms. Maybe it's an allusion of sorts. Or perhaps a reference to something. It could be even analogue to another object. One with abstract meaning. Just think of it as a way you read a book. There are lots of ways of interpreting it, depending on the context clues and your understanding and portrayal of it. Just evaluate it like you would when reading a story." She was becoming more bashful at the wide eyed, blank stares she was receiving. "Sorry. I don't know if that was any help."

An appreciative smirk made its way onto the blond alchemist's countenance. "No, no. You helped us plenty, Orihime," he thanked her. "You just gave us a few ideas of how to approach this."

She smiled at that. "Great! Glad I can help."

No later, the door silently swung open to reveal a tired yet satisfied Winry.

"Welcome back, Winry!" the healer chirped, greeting her blonde friend.

"Oh, hi, Winry," Al welcomed her.

"Hey," Ed muttered out, offering a lazy way, his mind clearly still reeling with ideas on how to interpret the concept of the book.

"Hi, guys!" Winry replied with a chipper smile.

"Where have you been?" the healer questioned, curiously. "Dinner should be ready in about an hour or so."

"No dinner for me, Orihime," the mechanic replied. "I just came back from eating at a nearby cafe, so I'm kind of stuffed."

The older girl nodded her head in understanding.

"Big Sis Ori, I'm done!" Nina called her from the kitchen.

"Well, I better get back to the kitchen." She swiftly waved and left to finish making preparing for dinner.

The blonde female bobbed her head. "You know, Orihime's going to make someone a great wife someday," she commented, watching the ginger haired girl skip back to the kitchen with a bright, cheerful grin on her face.

Something in Ed snapped. "Who's _wife_?!" he roared, enraged, veins popping.

Winry deadpanned. "It's just an expression, _Ed_. No need to be so jealous."

The elder Elric sputtered, his face flushing a beet red color. "Jealous?! I'm not jealous!"

He received an unconvinced and straight faced looks from his brother and childhood friend. "You are _so_ jealous," they called him out on his denial.

"_I'm not jealous_!" he sneered, crossing his arms in a huff. "Orihime can date whoever she wants."

The blonde mechanic's lips slipped into a sly smirk. Al instantly began wary of her skittish expression. This was going to end badly.

She breathed out a blissfully dramatic sigh. "Ah! I can see it now! The chiming of wedding bells. Orihime in a beautiful white dress and with a handsome man in her arms, who's successful, rich, and so much more decent than you, Ed," she cooed in a fangirlish manner with hearts in her eyes.

Edward, on the other hand, was grinding his teeth together, absolutely incensed. Just imagining the prospect was enough to make his blood boil. What no good, two faced asshole thinks he has any right to marry Orihime? His whole body was practically trembling rage. A murderous aura exuded from him, causing Alphonse and Winry to take a cautious step back, slightly frightened.

"I think you went too far, Winry," Al reprimanded her in a tiny whisper.

"I just wanted to rile him up a bit," she argued back in a harsh murmur. "Geez, Ed should just Orihime he likes her already!"

When the blond alchemist began muttering cruel profanities and the many different ways he would mutiliutate the guy, who so much as dare leer at Orihime, the younger Elric and the mechanic both paled with fear and horror. Just imagining the scenario sent shivers up their spines.

"I-I'm just going to head off to my room now," Winry stated with an uneasy smile. No way in hell was she sticking around with a frighteningly pissed off Ed. "You have a goodnight, guys. Enjoy your dinner." She sweatdropped as Ed's dark glare intensified as he was still incoherently muttering out death threats. Sheesh! He looked like he was trying to burn a hole through the paper.

She sighed. The green eyed monster has completely taken over Ed. She knew it was her fault for teasing him, but all she was trying to do was make him realize that Orihime wasn't going to wait forever for him to confess his true feelings to her. If he was this crazily jealous over the mere _thought_ of a guy marrying Orihime, why not just tell her he likes her already?! It was so obvious! She just couldn't believe Orihime hasn't noticed it. Well, her mind and heart was occupied with _someone else_, she supposed.

She shook her head again. Ed was so prideful at times it was ridiculously foolhardy.

Winry sent out one last wave of goodbye, which Al returned, but Ed because he was too busy glaring at the paper all hand, trying and failing to keep his mind occupied with studying whatever alchemic formula he was looking at. She quietly closed the door behind and left next door to the dorm she shared with Orihime and Nina.

"Oh? Did Winry leave already?" Orihime called from the kitchen.

She must've heard the door close, Al concluded. "Yeah, she left," he responded, loud enough for her to hear. "She said she was tired and full."

"Okay!" she replied back. And after that, everything went back.

Alphonse gazed back at his foul mood brother as he was flipping through the alchemic book they picked from the library, glaring daggers all throughout. The suit of armor wisely advised himself not to talk to Ed until he cooled off.

He rejoined and resumed back to studying and analyzing the book until dinner was done and ready.

* * *

"Eddie! Al! Dinner's ready!"

The Elric brothers perked up at the announcement, the sound of Orihime's voice snapping them out of their continuous studying and examination of the book.

"Coming!" Edward shouted back, his ill tempered mood had dissipated quite a while ago. He climbed up to his feet and stretched his limbs, a short yawn escaping from him. Al was busy gathering and organizing the scattered pieces of paper strewn across the table and floor, and stacking them into a neat pile at the corner of the surface. They could resume studying tomorrow. Right now, it's time for dinner and then getting ready to clock in for the night next. It was already so late.

"Wow!" Edward practically drooled at the sight at the unconventional yet strangely gorgeous meal laid out in front of him. Boy, he was starving! He couldn't wait to start digging in. He absolutely loved Orihime's home cooking! He doubted his stomach could wait any longer.

There were three plates of curry. He knew what curry was because Orihime had already made it for him a few times before. It was mildly spicy, but still ultimately delicious. He noticed that one plate's portion was slightly significantly less than the others. That was probably Nina's. Orihime was perhaps mindful of not giving the young girl too much. Her appetite wasn't as big as theirs. Plus, giving that her body was smaller than theirs, she probably couldn't hold as much calories.

They all gathered around the dining table, taking their seats with each of them at one side of it. Ed and Orihime were at the narrowed ends. Nina was at Orihime's right while Alphonse was at her left. Al's space was devoid of any food, given that he couldn't eat. Though he still appreciated the fact that the auburn haired healer tried to make him feel welcomed.

"What's this?" Ed asked, curiously poking his spoon at what looked like bread wrapped in bacon.

"Oh, that's a cheese bun stuffed with mash potatoes and apples and wrapped with bacon," Orihime answered, feeling proud of her creation. She always enjoyed cooking and coming up with new recipes. "Besides the curry, there is always just some pickled vegetables, and we have a tangy orange cheesecake topped with red bean and grape jelly frosting for dessert." She beamed, brightly. "So, please dig in!"

The blond alchemist didn't need another initiative than that as immediately began scarfing down the food. Orihime smiled with delight, so happy at the elated expression on Ed's face as he wholeheartedly engorged himself in the meal. She began eating the curry at a much more leisurely pace, mostly to savor the taste. Otherwise, she would be gobbling down the food like a pig similar to what Ed was doing.

"Big Sis Ori," Nina whimpered, grabbing the auburn haired girl's attention.

The healer instantly grew concerned when she noted the tears welling in the brown haired girl's eyes and the pained expression on her face. "Nina! What's wrong?" The urgent worry on her face grabbed the brothers' attention.

"Big sis," the aforementioned girl sniffled. "The food's spicy."

"Really?" She took Nina's plate. She was sure that curry was only mildly picante. Just enough to add a punch of heat in a person's mouth after every bite. Maybe the young girl had zero tolerance for spicy foods. She made a mental note to herself to never feed the young girl anything spicy.

"I'll try to cool down for you, Nina, so it would be easier for you to stomach it," she finally reassured her, offering her a kind smile. "Why don't you drink your juice?"

Nina shot a weak yet brave grin in return, trying to remain strong for her big sis. She tentatively nodded her head and took a sip of her orange juice to cool down her burning tongue.

Orihime slightly grin in an assuring manner before taking Nina's plate and headed towards the kitchen. She understood their were few tricks to reduce the spiciness of foods. Adding milk was one way, but she was worried if that would ruin the rice. She couldn't exactly add more ingredients either to even it out. That would require steaming some veggies up, and, unfortunately, they were out, meaning she would have to stock up on groceries some time tomorrow.

Ah! She found her solution. She could just add some sugar, some lemon juice, and a dash of peanut butter to dilute the spicy flavor. Plus, they won't affect the rice as much, and still keep the sweetness intact. Maybe even enhance it.

She applied the necessary ingredients. After tasting it, she hummed in satisfaction. Perfect! That should do it! She headed back to the dining table, and handed Nina her plate of rice and curry back.

"Here. Try this," she said with a gentle smile spread across her lips.

Nina seemed a bit hesitant at first. She merely stared at it before cautiously taking a tiny spoonful. Reluctantly taking a bite, she slowly chewed the food. Her face brightened up, magnificently, and she immediately started to eagerly eat the rest. "This is good!" she shouted in joy in between bites.

Orihime merely grinned. It warmed her heart to see people enjoying her cooking. "So, did you guys find anything else out about what you were studying?" She directed her question at the two boys.

Alphonse deflated a bit. "No, not yet. But thanks your advice, Orihime, we do have some ideas," he finished, attempting to keep his spirits up by thinking optimistically.

"And it's not like we're going to give up so easily," Ed stated, strongly, speaking between a mouthful of food.

"Brother! Swallow your food before you talk," Al lectured him.

The elder Elric merely rolled his eyes in exasperation and annoyance.

Orihime enjoyed the nice, warm atmosphere. Pleasantly chatting among friends while eating a wholesome dinner. The whole picture of it resembled that of a family delightfully having a meal together after a hard day. It made her feel tender and fuzzy inside. She couldn't remember the last time she felt like this, given that she lived alone back home, so she always ate alone.

But every since she came to Amestris, she's been enjoying meals like this everyday. It made her so happy! Truthfully, she hated being alone or having dinner by herself. It was too sad and lonely. Meeting Ed and Al cleared some of that loneliness because now she didn't have to eat alone. She had some friends with her, lightly chatting and enjoying a nice meal that _she_ cooked. She was really happy! And for that, it was one of the reasons she was truly grateful she met them.

And soon, dinner ended.

* * *

Edward laid on his bed, his stomach stuffed and a pleasant grin on his countenance. Orihime's cooking were always the best! He would gladly and proudly admit he absolutely adored her meals. He was a sucker for it. Having spent a month in a deserted island as a young child, the bizarre creations or unconventional appearances doesn't bother him. As long as it tasted good, he was game. And her cooking unfailingly tasted so unbelievably delicious.

An irritated frown that formed on his lips. He was still stuck on how figuring out the hidden meaning behind 'the moon on the water'. He understood that there must be some trick to it that relates to the incomplete Transmutation Circle. But what? How could something that sounded so simple be so complicated?

Urgh! He groaned in frustration. Ed had been staring and trying to analyze the Transmutation Circle for hours, his brain conjuring up numerous ideas, each one more futile than the less. He knew he should be asleep and Al would probably lecture him and throw a fit if he saw him still up so late at night, but he just couldn't. He couldn't help it. When his mind was hooked onto a challenge, he was stubbornly determined not to solve its mysteries. And that was this was to him. A challenge. And he wasn't stopping until he completes it!

The blond alchemist lazily tossed himself over the bed. Fuck this! He wasn't ever going to be able to think straight if he was this riled up. His brain was already beginning to overload. He needed some fresh air. But first, the bathroom.

Climbing out the bed and aggressively tossing the blanket away, Edward slipped on a pair of night slippers and headed towards the bathroom. He stalked out of the room and headed to the bathroom to do his business. After relieving himself, he proceeded to wash his hands with warm water and a lather of the scented soap the hotel offers.

"_Orihime's going to make a great wife someday."_

"_I could imagine her being married to a handsome, rich guy."_

He inwardly snarled, his blood was already beginning to boil. Why was the hell was he thinking about _that_? He shouldn't let Winry's stupidly annoying remarks bother him. So what if Orihime started dating some guy? She should be allowed like whoever she wants. It doesn't bother him.

He paused. His golden eyes gazing at the mirror, staring, listlessly at his own reflection. His blond hair was untied from its usual braid. The loose, long strands cascading down to his upper back. He wore his typical sleepwear that consisted of a pair of blue boxer shorts and a blue t-shirt to match. His lips then set into a deep scowl and his blond brows furrowed.

Oh, who the hell was he kidding? Of course it bothered him. The thought of Orihime liking some random guy angered him in ways he couldn't understand. And he was well aware of the fact that she already liked Ichigo.

When Winry spoke about Orihime marrying some guy, his mind instinctively conjured up imagines of her being married off to Ichigo. Then he suddenly became overwhelmed with anger and jealousy. Of course, he had never met Ichigo in person before, but he had heard stories about him from Orihime, and the only thing he could say was what the hell does she see in that guy?

Ichigo doesn't seem all that remarkable to him. At least, not as great as Orihime constantly made him out to be. From what he gathered from her tales, he was just a grumpy, stubborn, arrogant asshole with some decently nice traits. Nothing special to write home about. However, Orihime was in love with him, and he himself couldn't understand why.

Ed often wondered what would be like if Orihime never met Ichigo. Would he have a chance with her? Hold up, hold up, hold up! He immediately stopped himself right there. What the hell was he thinking _this_ time? Okay, why was thinking about his chances with her? He wasn't really thinking about dating her, was he? The hell? He doesn't like her like that! It's not like she's his girlfriend of anything! Or that he has a crush on her!

Well, Orihime was pretty. She's kind and beautiful. Warm and loving. She's helpful and compassionate. Her heart was so big that it was filled with an enormous amount of generosity, passion, and forgiveness. So much so that it was hopelessly contagious. Also, she might not look like it, but she's extremely smart and perceptive of other people's moods and feelings. And she has one of the most beautiful smiles he had ever seen. So heartwarming and enchanting. A smile that could melt even the coldest of hearts. Plus, she makes some of the cutest expressions when she's shy or embarrassed, especially when he teases her.

Edward could feel his face heating up. His heart was thumping faster against his ribcage. Seeing that his own blushing features in the mirror, he had a minor freak out. No way was he blushing! God! Why does he feel like such a hopeless fool?

Sigh. He needed some fresh air.

He wasn't aware of the faint bluish glue in the right pocket of his boxers.

* * *

Edward managed to make his way up to the roof of the building, and, to his surprise, someone was already there. He recognized that head full of beautiful strands of auburn hair blowing gently in the cool breeze anywhere.

"Orihime?" he called out to her before he even realized he had opened his mouth.

The girl in question quickly became startled. Her head twisting in the direction she heard her name being called, and her alert, gray eyes landed on him. When she registered the person who called her was just Ed, her features softened and she blew out a quiet breath of relief. She was dressed in her usual baby blue nightgown.

"Oh, hi, Eddie! What brings you up here?" Orihime asked, sheepishly.

He slowly approached her until he was standing next to her. "Ah, I couldn't sleep," he answered her, tiredly. "What about you?"

She shook her head. "Me neither. There's been a lot going on in my mind lately."

That piqued his interest. "Like what?"

Flushing, her hand unconsciously went up to play with the ends of her auburn hair. A telltale sign that she was becoming self conscious. "It's nothing, really. It's stupid."

"C'mon," he playfully prodded her with his elbow, gently. "You can tell me."

"No, it's silly," she refused.

"C'mon, don't keep me waiting. I promise I won't laugh, don't keep me waiting."

Still blushing, the auburn haired girl relented. "Well, Winry was just talking about marriage and boys," she said, embarrassingly.

Ed frowned. Now, Winry was putting stupid thoughts about marriage into Orihime's head? The thought of Orihime getting married to Ichigo made his stomach turn. The bitter taste in his mouth was palpable. An overwhelming sense of jealousy was encroaching at the recesses of his heart.

Damn! He came up to the roof to get some peace of mind. Still, he knew it wasn't Orihime's fault. It was his own damn fault for asking. If she wanted to talk about what was on her mind when Winry asked her if she was interested in dating guys, he had no right to stop her now. He was the one who foolishly dug his own grave. All he could do was shut up and listen, no matter how much it hurt his heart.

"What's wrong, Eddie?"

Ed was snapped out his jealous filled musings to witness the concerned look Orihime was giving him. "Oh, it's nothing," he said, unconvincingly.

That just made the ginger haired girl frown even more, his brows to scrunch downwards in worry. "It's not 'nothing'," she observed, fretfully. "You seem kind of mad. Why?"

He merely produced a wry smirk full of mirthless laughter. She always was perceptive. No matter how hard he tries, she could, for the most part, notably deduce what he was feeling just by reading the subtle signs of his expression and body language.

However, there was no way he could tell her the thought of her dating upsets him. He doesn't want to be selfish like that. Though, he couldn't lie to her either. He was a terrible liar. She would see right through him.

Finally, he slowly opened his mouth. "I…" Then he snapped it closed, trying to rethink his answer. "Winry had the same conversation with me, too."

Orihime's gray orbs sparked up with surprise and a little bit of amusement. "She did?"

Ed awkwardly rubbed the back of his, feeling the strands of his loose hair being caught between his fingers. He had almost forgotten his hair wasn't braided. "Yeah, but I wasn't interested in listening." Yes, he was. He was practically fuming with rage. "She told that's the reason why girls wouldn't want to marry me." Now, here's a lie. Well, partially a lie. She had told him this many times in the past. It just wasn't she said earlier today. "She said I'm too obnoxious, crude, impatient, and ill tempered. She said I was such a jerk that I would just scare most potential dates off. Only the truly brave ones would stick around, but even then they would eventually be turned off by my unpleasant and repulsive attitude." He scoffed. "Not like I care."

Edward was lying. He really did care. Just not in the way he was describing it. There was _one_ girl he was worried about that would find these undesirable traits off putting about him. And she was standing right next to him. These were the aspects of his personality that made him feel insecure and unworthy in her eyes. Because he knew, he knew so fucking well that Orihime could do so much better than an arrogant jerk like him. Someone as sweet and kind as her would never give a guy like him the time of day. He accepted that fact. He wasn't saying he had feelings for her. Though, it still hurt, nonetheless.

"That's not true."

The blond alchemist snapped his head towards the ginger haired girl in utter surprise. Her sweet voice whispering against his ear, harmoniously.

"That's not true, at all," Orihime spoke in that gentle, captivating tone of hers. "There are lots of good things about you as well, Eddie."

He could almost laugh, but he was more shocked than anything. "Yeah, like what?" he questioned, incredulously. He honestly doesn't believe there was anything about him to write home about. He was impatient and hot tempered, not to mention he was the stupid fool that damned his little brother to a life in an empty metal body that couldn't feel, eat, or sleep because he was too arrogant to heed all the warnings and precautions against Human Transmutation. What about him is likeable?

"You're very hardworking," she answered, immediately. Her reply had been so instinctive, so planned out in advance that it caught him completely off guard. The passion she spoke with filled with strong conviction that it left utterly stunned. He just stood there, desperate to hear more, to hear her say what _she_ likes about him. His heart hammering with anticipation.

She shyly twindled her fingers as she continued. "You are a very dedicated person, Eddie. And your passionate about the things you like. Sure, you're not perfect and you often make mistakes, but you do your best to fix them. You always try your best, no matter what, and that's what matters. You're kind, Eddie."

Once she finished, several moments of confounded and heated silence passed between them. Ed just stared, mystified and amazed while Orihime, on the other hand, was becoming increasingly flustered by the moment. Their respective hearts were beating inside their chest at a rapid pace. Their faces lined with light blushes.

At last, Edward was the first one to react the highly endearing compliments. He turned away, staring out into the distance, making sure his bangs were hiding reddening face from her view. "You really know how to flatter a guy. You know that?" he remarked, feeling completely embarrassed. Although, he was happy to hear her say that. His heart leapt out of his chest. He was exalted to learn that she doesn't think of him an obnoxiously rude prick.

"The stars are beautiful tonight," Orihime gaped with wonder, her gray eyes sparkling with awe.

Ed's own golden orbs gazed up at the starry night sky and the full moon hanging out in the corner, shining brilliantly with all its glory. Though, he couldn't view the stars as clearly in the city as in the countryside. He remembered spending nights back in Reseembol, counting the stars, drawing the many constellations that formed. They stars were with the way twinkled against the darkness of the night. The silvery glow of the moon lit up the sky in a luminescent light. He could see that a few lights were on in the many buildings out in the distance. The city lights gave the scenery an admiring, yellowish glow. It was a beautiful sight.

The blond's golden eyes glanced at the girl next to him. Her auburn hair gently flailed against the cool night breeze. Strangely, he could count every single strand of hair lightly waving around, majestically. The moon shining on her pale, heart shaped face gave her a captivating glow. The angelic, silvery radiant light just capitalized on her already attractive, making her appear downright gorgeous. Just staring at her was breathtaking. His heart was pounding a million miles a minute. Yeah, the scenery was pretty, but not as…

"But not as beautiful as you."

"Huh?" Orihime silently squeaked out in absolute surprise. "Wha? What did you say, Eddie?"

Ed's eyes widened, tremendously. Crap! Did he say that out loud? Did he really fucking say that _out loud_? Instantly, he felt his entire face a burn a deep crimson shade of red. He was as red as his signature coat. _He couldn't believe he said that out loud_! Good god! He could die of embarrassment right now. He wanted to run away, to hide this increasingly sense of mortification that was creeping up inside him. He could actually feel his heart exploding out his chest. But he was just left there, frozen, stunned, too awkward and nonplussed to react. He felt like a deer trapped in headlights. And the more he just stood there just gaping like an idiot, the more realize what a hopeless fool he was making of himself. He needed to say something! _Anything_! But what the hell was he supposed to say?

_What was he supposed to say_?

"Uh… I… Uh…" _Real smooth_. He wanted to smack himself. Could he be even more embarrassing?

Orihime, for her part, was left completely shocked and astonished, her own heart lightly pounding against her chest, and her a light shade of pink dusting on the bridge of her nose. Did he actually say what she thinks he said? Or was her mind playing tricks on her? Maybe she just misheard him because there's no way he said that. There's no way he called her 'beautiful'. The sensation of butterflies swarmed inside the pit of her stomach.

"I just said… The dinner you made was great, Orihime," Edward finally , offering her a cheesy grin. Although, he was completely inflamed with panic on the inside. He was hoping that reply was convincing and would diffuse the awkward tension between.

He carefully and apprehensive studied Orihime's facial expression for several minutes. She slowly blinked in confusion until her appearance shifted into that of...disappointment? He could be sure. It only lasted for a split second before an appreciative, happy smile broke out.

"Thank you, Eddie," she whispered, sweetly. "I really do enjoy cooking for you guys. It makes me happy." She gasped as if realizing something. "I never really did answer your question, did I?"

A puzzled, yellow brow rose. "I thought you did?"

She shook her head. Her legs were beginning to bounce as she became giddy with excitement. The image vaguely reminded him of an excited puppy begging for treats. It brought an amused grin to his face.

"I only told you what Winry said," she continued. "I never told you what my answer was."

He somewhat deflated at that, dreading her reply to his mechanic's inquiries. He smile became tight and more strained, but he still felt obligated to listen, no matter how painful the answer might be.

"I told her what it would be like if I was a boy!" she exclaimed in absolute glee.

Ed almost collapsed, anime style. He could only stare at her, flabbergasted, mouth agape. "Okay, what?" he dulled out, widely stupefied. For the life of him, he couldn't find the connection between being married to becoming the opposite gender. Instead of attempting to fry his brain trying to comprehend her odd meaning, he just decided to let her elaborate. That would be best. She was always an oddball. An eccentric nutcase. But that's what makes her so endearing. It just adds to her charm.

She pouted when she observed he wasn't as enthusiastic as she was. "Oh, c'mon!" she whined. "Have you ever wondered what it was like to be a girl?"

Blushing slightly, Ed frowned. "N-no! Why the hell would I think about something like that?" he yelled, appalled.

She tilted her. "But don't you want to?"

"No! Why would I? I'm perfect with being a guy, thank you," he declared, proudly, which caused Orihime to giggle.

Something in the sky in glistening white streaks caught her. "Look, Eddie!" she gasped, awestruck, fingers pointing, excitedly at the darkened sky. "A shooting star! Make a wish!"

Ed glanced over at the cheerfully happy girl. The way her gray orbs twinkled with wonder and joy made a small smile of his own grace his lips. This peaceful, tranquil, and warm atmosphere standing next to the girl he may or may not having feelings for was all he needed. He didn't need a wish.

Okay, maybe he did. Just a teensy, tiny bit. He just wanted to be closer to her than ever before. He wanted to get to know her as much as possible. He wanted to know her inside and out. Maybe...if he got closer to her, he could figure out what type of guys she's interested in. Or why she's infautuated with Ichigo.

Urgh! Just thinking about it made Ed sick to his stomach. A feeling of jealous rage began to roar inside him, but he swiftly doused that fire out before it could get out of hand. He didn't want to ruin this blissful moment.

However, other than that, other than getting him and Al their bodies back. He had everything he needed.

Ed slowly inched closer to Orihime, already feeling the warmth radiating off of her due to their closeness, but she hadn't noticed, still in wonder while staring off into the starry night sky.

Yeah, this moment… Right here, right now… He wouldn't trade it for the world.

The two teenagers were clueless to the faint bluish glow shining in Ed's pocket, more vibrant than last time.

* * *

**(A/N: Because this ended up being **_**so **_**long, I've turned it from a one shot to a three shot. It may end up being longer than that. Who knows? But like I said, this was **_**supposed**_** to be submitted for a challenge, but I missed the deadline. Oh, well.**

**Leave any comments, suggestions, or questions in a review, and thanks for reading!)**


	2. Awkward Circumstances

**(A/N: This is the second chapter of 'A Mile in My Shoes'. There's one thing I forgot to mention is that this short, non canon story was inspired by 'Your Name'. Your Name is a great movie! Not excellent because it has **_**plenty**_** of flaws, but great, nonetheless. Anyway, enjoy!)**

* * *

Awkward Circumstances

This was odd.

That was his initial thought when slept left him and he began to stir.

The first thing Edward noticed when he woke up was that his chest unusually heavy. His back was starting to ache just to keep up the extra weight he was experiencing. Seriously. It felt like he put on an extra ten to fifteen pounds.

His eyes fluttered open. On instinct, they drifted downward, trying to distinguish the mysterious object weighing down. To his relief, it was just Nina. The young girl blissfully and softly snored away, a tiny happy smile plastered on her face. A faint smile of his began to form as he observed the girl sleep away. She must be having a pleasant dream, if that grin on her face was any indication.

Wait a minute…! His mind instantly whirled with confusion. What was Nina doing in his room? Wasn't Nina staying with Orihime and Winry in their room?

Okay, this was starting to freak him out this was weird. What's going on? He wanted to shake the brown haired girl awake to ask her what was she doing in his room? How did she get in? However, he opted not to. He doesn't want to disturb her sleep.

Well, that and...something about this room seemed different.

First off, his signature red coat was missing. He could have sworn he hung up over the closet door. He took another careful, more scrutinizing look around the room now that he noticed that oddity. There was a drawer next to the bed, and a blue glint caught his eye. Aren't those Orihime's hairpins? Another thing that quickly caught his eyes were Orihime's clothes hanging in the opened closest.

This was seriously started to scare him. It suddenly became clear to him that he wasn't in his room. He was _Orihime's_ room! What…? What the actual fuck?! What the hell was he doing in here?! Did he sleepwalk? That notion was absurd. He never fell into a state of somnambulism before.

Ed thought that maybe he fell asleep on the roof when he was talking and enjoying his alone time with Orihime last night. She probably carried him to her room. But wait… That wouldn't make any sense. Why would she not to just take him to his room? He was sure Al would answer the door for her, given that he couldn't sleep anyway. And now that he thought about it more clearly, he was certain he went to sleep in _his_ room on _his_ bed! So, what the fuck's going on?!

He couldn't make heads or tails of this bizarre situation he was finding himself in, and it was grating on his nerves. It aggravated him because he couldn't figure out what the hell could have possibly happened last night that led him to sleeping in Orihime's room and with Nina cuddling up next to him.

Before he contemplates on this strange scenario even more, he felt the weight on his chest begin to stir. He watched in slight panic when Nina's eyes fluttered, her bright blue orbs, openly displayed and in a hazy daze for all the world to see. She took a minute to gather her surroundings before her eyes fell on his, and a toothy smile graced her lips.

"Good morning, Big Sis Ori!" she chirped, happily, although, the sense of drowsiness still plagued her tone.

Now, Edward was confused, mystified, perplexed, and in a state of utter panic and consternation. Why would Nina call him Orihime? Maybe she was still sleepy, and just _thought_ he was Orihime? Yeah, that was it.

Or maybe _he_ was the one who still asleep? And all of this was some sort of an elaborate, bizarre dream. Okay, okay. That's it. It was the most logical conclusion. So, all he had to do was pinch himself really hard, and he would escape this twisted dream.

He reached his hand up and pulled on his right cheek, painfully. He groaned at the pain, but he was willing to endure it to wake himself up. Though, at this rate, his cheek was going to turn red by the time he awakens.

"Big sis, what are you doing?" Nina asked, voice laced with confusion. "Why are you pinching yourself?"

So…? He wasn't dreaming? If he was awake, and Nina was awake, then why is she confusing him for Orihime?

The young girl tilted her head to the side, a puzzled expression etched on her face. "Big sis, something about you feels different?"

Nina's innocent question jolted him of his ever increasing uneasy and frustrating thoughts. Fuck it! It's time to just rip the bandage off.

He sat up, gently nudging Nina away, and the young girl slowly crawled into her own sitting position. However, Ed almost fell over due to the extra weight on his chest. What the…? He thought the excess pounds had to do with Nina sleeping on his chest?

He glanced down to see large balls stuffed inside his shirt. Wait a second…! This wasn't his clothes. This was Orihime's nightgown! He's seen her wear it plenty of times when she went to bed to recognize the fabric.

So, that means…? These two large, watermelon shaped balloons were…? They were really…?

His face instantly burned a deep shade of red.

No way! No way in hell this was happening! It's just not possible!

A strand of hair flew across his face. He went to swipe it out away. However, in his horror, he paused. He wasn't met with his usual thread of golden blond hair. No. This one… This one was… _Auburn_!

That was the last straw, and Ed let out a horrified, quite girlish, scream.

Almost instantly, Winry barged into the room. Her expression etched up in panic and worry. "Orihime, what's wrong? What's with the screaming?" Her blue eyes scanned the room to see what could be the cause for the disturbance, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The only thing that caught her attention were Orihime's gray orbs wide and frozen with shock and terror as if she did something wrong and she was a deer caught in headlights, and a crimson red blush on her face. She swore the color of her countenance matched her auburn hair.

Nina herself jumped, becoming startled at the unexpected screaming.

Edward, on the other hand, was in a state of unrelenting panic and dread. Should he tell Winry that it's him? That he somehow wounded up in Orihime's body? Then what? Get whacked in the head for being a perceived pervert? He inwardly scowled at that. Hey, it's not like asked for this.

Ed concluded it was best not tell Winry. For now. At least until he had a better grasp on the situation. "I-it's nothing, Winry," he squeaked out. He couldn't get over how soft, sweet, and feminine his voice sounded right now. A stark contrast to his normally high pitched yet deep and masculine tone. "I-I just saw a bug, that's all. It sort of startled me." He hoped his lie was convincing enough, despite the panic that was rising in him with every second that passed.

Winry rose a skeptical, blonde eyebrow then sighed a few moments later. "Alright. If you say so. You should start getting dressed. It's already past nine." She smirked. "If Ed still doesn't asleep, he's probably waiting for breakfast with drool covering the bottom half of his mouth." She shook his head. "I swear he could be such a pig at times."

The blonde mechanic was oblivious to Ed's growing anger, not realizing she wasn't talking to Orihime, but to Edward instead. Oh, great. Even behind his back, Winry still talks crap about him. He wanted to yell at her, to offer an angry retort, but held his tongue back, lest he blow his cover. Though, he still needed to say _something_. He couldn't let her get away with badmouthing him. His pride wouldn't let him.

"He's not like that at all. I think you're being too harsh, Winry," he clipped. He did his best to imitate Orihime's behavior and mannerisms when he spoke. He tried sound earnest and polite, despite the aggravation he was feeling as internally grinded his teeth together.

The blonde girl chuckled and shook her head again with an amused smile. "You are way too nice to that blockhead, Orihime. You must have the patience of a saint to put up with someone like Ed."

Ed doesn't know if he should take the compliment or not, knowing it was for Orihime. But Winry insulted him _again_. How many times in the span of ten minutes? Does she think that lowly of him? Well, she isn't exactly a perfect, little angel herself.

"Big brother's nice," Nina piped in.

"_Thank you, Nina,"_ Ed cheered, internally. _"At least, _someone's_ on my side."_

Winry's blue eyes turned their attention at the young girl. "Trust me, Nina. Ed could be a real pain at times."

She let out a small yawn. "I'm going to get dressed," she announced. "You two should probably start doing the same." With that, she closed the door and left, most likely heading back to her room to get ready for the day.

As soon as the proclamation of getting dressed uttered out of Winry's mouth, Ed's face burned. Getting dressed? In Orihime's body? That would mean seeing her…! His initial anger and frustration was gone, and was instantaneously replaced with mortification and embarrassment in less than a second. He was nearly hyperventilating at this moment. Beads of sweat were gliding down his face.

Oh, fuck! How was he supposed to do this? He definitely did _not_ want to see Orihime naked! He wasn't saying there wasn't anything wrong with her. He was just… He was in _Orihime's_ body for fuck's sake! Getting dressed while being her was just inappropriate. It was wrong! He doesn't want to be labeled a fucking pervert!

He clenched his head in distress and perturbation. What was he supposed to do?

_What the hell was supposed to do_?!

"Big Sis Ori, are you okay?" Nina's concerned voice jolted Ed out of his alarming and extremely awkward thoughts. "You're acting weird."

Edward started to get nervous when the brown haired girl shot him an innocent looking, scrutinizing gaze. The way her blue eyes gazed at him intensely yet only in a simple and unassuming manner a child could exhibit was...unnerving to say the least. Was Nina figuring he was _trapped_ Orihime's body? Was she making a connection between him and Orihime's odd behavior? It was hard to determine what was going on in the young girl's girl behind that naive and ingenuous expression.

That is...until she finally opened her mouth.

"You're not Orihime."

Those three simple words sent Ed into a state of panic. He almost choked on his own saliva. "What?" was all he could manage to stumble out, too shocked to say anything else. The way Nina uttered out that statement without a trace of hesitance or uncertainty left him absolutely stunned. She was so sure of her declaration.

"H-how did you know?" he almost squawked out before shutting his mouth, realizing he just confirmed her validation.

Nina just giggled. "Big sis is big sis, and big brother isn't big sis," she said, simply, giving a logic only a child could explain so easily and without pretense.

Ed could only stare at her, wide eyed, stunned, and dumbfounded. Nina was… Nina was lot more perceptive and smarter than he thought.

She then frowned and inclined her head in confusion. "But if Big Brother Ed is in big sis's body, then where is Big Sis Ori?"

He snapped out of his shock when the brown haired girl's concern hit him. Throughout his panicked and anxious state of waking up in Orihime's body, he almost completely forgot about her. It never crossed his mind until now, and Nina made an excellent. If he was in Orihime's body, then where was she?

He didn't have much time to dwell on it as he felt a familiar urge in the lower part of his body. His cheeks flushed a light shade of pink and his face twisted into an 'uh, oh' expression. A whole new slew of embarrassment shuddered within him.

How the hell was he going to use the bathroom in Orihime's body?!

Ed cringed. He doesn't have time to worry about that right now. He seriously needed to use the restroom right this minute. He doesn't know how much longer he could hold his bladder.

Without a second to spare, Edward shot straight out of the bed, making Nina give out a startled yelp at his abruptness. He hastily dashed out of the room and ran into the first door he spotted down the hall, ignoring the surprised look on Winry's face when he past her.

* * *

Luckily, the first door Ed entered was the bathroom. Unfortunately, Edward's face instantly turned beet red as he froze up. Uh… How was he supposed to do this? He could only stare, mindlessly at the toilet. A panicked lump formed in his throat. Was he really supposed to…?

His whole face burned. No way! He couldn't do that! That would require taking off Orihime's panties. And then… And then… It was too embarrassing! Mortifying! Horribly perverted! He couldn't and shouldn't dare to even take a glance at Orihime's private area.

The sudden, impatient urge of his bladder reminded him that he didn't have a choice. Unless he preferred if he peed on himself, which would be even more embarrassing. Excruciatingly so.

He blew out a deep, reluctantly resigned breath. He needed to calm himself. His heart was practically hammering against his ribcage. Plus, his bladder wasn't going to hold out much longer.

Blushing profusely, Ed swallowed down his thoughts of awkwardness and embarrassment. He had to do this. He had no other choice. Maybe...if he just closed his eyes...it wouldn't be so bad.

Yeah, that could work. He would just close his eyes. That why he wouldn't worry about seeing anything he wasn't supposed to, and he couldn't catch a glimpse of Orihime's panties. Yes, yes, he had it all figured out.

Closing his now gray orbs, Ed lifted up his blue nightgown. He felt around for the panties, his cheeks burning with every agonizing second that passed. He could feel himself touching the silky smooth skin of Orihime's inner thighs. He resisted the urge to let out a mortified and abashed scream. This was no time for spazzing out. He had to hurry before he urinated on himself. Though, her skin was so supple and soft.

Oh, god! Trinkles of sweat started gliding down the side of his face. If he could get any hotter, he would have burst into flames by now. This was so awkward. So embarrassing. And so _wrong_! Shame began to fill him. He felt more and more like a pervert with every passing moment.

Finally! Edward managed to get his squirmy fingers around the elastic base of the panties. Steeling himself, so he wouldn't freak out, he braced himself and slipped the soft fabric of her panties down to his ankles in one fell swoop. Despite the internal explosion of emotions erupted inside, he mentally cheered at his success. Now, all he had to do was sit on the toilet, and do his business.

Once Ed finished, a horrifying realization hit him. He's required to wipe himself, isn't he? That means touching Orihime's… The sound of a kettle whistling rang out as steam immediately blew from his ears. His entire face, neck, and ears erupted in an explosion of red.

Shit! Shit! Shit!

He groaned, loudly in agony and misery.

Life hates him!

* * *

About fifteen agonizing minutes later, Edward emerged from the bathroom, totally drained and exhausted. That was the most horrendously awkward, painstakingly intense, and hellishly embarrassing bathroom break he ever took. He never felt so dirty in his life! He felt like he violated Orihime!

He buried his face into his hands in shame. Fuck! What if Orihime learns of what he just did? He was so fucking screwed! He could already imagine her face twisted into pure disgust, and her shouting in shock and aghast that he was a pervert with prickle of tears in her eyes.

"Edward!"

Ed didn't have time to react to the furious shout of his name as he was hit in the head by a flying wrench. He unceremoniously fell on the floor by the sheer force of the blow. "Ow!" he groaned. "The hell?"

"Edward!"

He cracked a gray orb opened to view Winry glaring down on him, arms crossed and a murderous aura emanating from her. He instantly turned sheet white, his eyes were wide with fear, and a bad case of terror and dread shivered down his spine. All he could process right now, at this moment, that he was fucked.

Winry growled, deeply and grabbed a frozen Ed in Orihime's body by the collar of his nightgown. "Edward Elric, you're a freaking pervert!" she yelled, furiously, viciously shaking him like a mad woman. "What are you doing in Orihime's body?! How did you get in there? Ed, you better return Orihime's body back to her, or so help me…!"

"W-Winry, calm down…!" Ed managed to wheeze out. He gripped the mechanic's wrist to stop her from shaking so violently, so he could breathe and the world would cease spinning around him.

"Could you give me a damn second to explain?" he yelled in irritation, tenderly rubbing his bruised forehead. "By the way, this is Orihime's body you're attacking, you know," he added, spitefully.

Winry just frowned, her intense glare still in place as she waited for him to explain himself.

"I don't know I got like this," he said, lamely.

The blonde mechanic was not the least bit satisfied by that clarification. In fact, she became even more increased. "Edward…!" she growled, threateningly holding up a wrench.

He panicked, the warning ringing loud and fearsome. If he didn't come with a more reliable delineation soon, he was a good as dead. He could clearly observe Winry's temper barely hanging by a thread.

Although, he doesn't know how else to clarify the distressing and situation to her. "Look, I don't know how else to tell you this, Winry!" he claimed, urgently. "All I remember is sleeping in my room in my bed in _my_ body, then I wake up the next morning to find myself in Orihime's body. It's true! I swear! Did you think I thought, 'Hey. Wouldn't it be nice if I woke up as Orihime?'"

Winry's angry didn't let up for several seconds with each second causing a sense of anxiety and apprehensive to fill Ed. Until finally, she let out a frustrated breath. "Fine, Ed, I believe you," she sighed in exasperation. "I'm sure, even with alchemy, you would never pull a stupid stunt like this."

Edward breathed out a relieved breath he didn't realize he was holding.

"But there's one thing I want to ask, Ed." The blonde mechanic's deadly aura returned with a vengeance, and the blond alchemist's pleased grin transformed into a fearful frown. "I saw you go into the bathroom…" Her bright blue eyes glared, darkly as she ominously loomed over the now cowering Edward, her trusty wrench held out in a demonic manner. "You didn't do anything perverted, did you?"

Edward was frozen in fear. He doesn't know what to say. What could he say? Even if he had no other choice, he still felt disgusted and ashamed of himself for what he had to do. He was a dirty pervert. That guilt was displayed empathically on his face, and Winry's murderous aura intensified.

Next, there was a loud bash, and Ed's sudden cry of pain.

* * *

"Eddie? Is that you?"

Hearing Orihime's unsure voice in his body was really an awkward experience to behold. Seeing that sad frown and his golden eyes brimming with tears was an odd and uncomfortable distress and sadness were clearly written on his facial features. He didn't know his face could look like that! He was on the verge of crying! It was so cringeworthy. He would have called it a pathetic view, if he didn't know who he was actually talking to. He couldn't remember the last time he cried. Maybe at his mom's funeral.

Edward rubbed the back of his auburn head, feeling nonplussed and embarrassed. "Yeah, it's me," he said, awkwardly.

"Why?" Orihime in Ed's body gasped, horrified, her golden orbs wide with shock and disbelief. "Why are you in my body? Why am I in yours? H-how did this happen?"

Then her face twisted into a frightful recollection. "Oh, no…," she muttered out, dismay and guilt. "Do you think this is my fault? Because I wondered what it would be like if we were opposite genders?"

Seeing Orihime's saddened tears made something Ed's heart twist. Even if it was his body, Orihime was still in there. Her mild mannered temperament, her gentle mannerisms, it was all still the same. And, evidently, he had a huge soft spot for her. Only her.

He softly patted her blonde hair, or his original blond hair, trying to reassure and comfort her. "It's not your fault, Orihime. I'll figure something out. I promise."

"You sure?" she sobbed.

Ed merely nodded his head with that cheesy grin of his.

Orihime's own pleased, tearful smile made its way to her face.

The sound of someone clearing snapped the two teens out of their adoring trance.

"If you two are done being lovey dovey, we have a serious problem on our hands," Winry informed the two with a sigh and a shake of her head, although, there was a teasing smirk spread across her lips.

The female mechanic's mischievous remark caused both Edward and Orihime to blush a light shade of pink.

"We weren't flirting!" Ed yelled, red faced and angered.

Orihime could only make a small squeal of embarrassment, self consciously hiding her reddened face behind her hands.

"You know, this is super weird," the blonde mechanic commented.

"I know, it is weird," Alphonse agreed with her. "If I didn't know that was really Orihime, it would be incredibly bizarre to see brother acting so...feminine."

"It's funny!" Nina laughed, amused. "Big sis act like big brother and big brother act like big sis."

"It's not funny, Nina!" Ed whined.

Gathering around the living quarters of the Elric brothers' hotel room, the quartet began to discuss reasons and theories on why Edward and Orihime switch bodies whilst coming up with ideas to reverse the effects.

"Let's start from the beginning," Winry suggested. "What were the last thing you two remember doing last night?"

Orihime hummed, placing her pointer finger under her chin, thoughtfully. "I remember making dinner. Dinner was fun!" she continued with a fond smile. "Afterwards, I left with Nina back to our hotel room where we got ready for bed and went to sleep."

"Big Sis Ori told me a bedtime story," Nina pitched in, happily.

"All I did was study the alchemic notes from the book we picked up from the library along with Al," Ed said. "We were trying to come up with hypotheses and theories behind the unfinished notes," he informed them with Al nodding along to confirm his story.

"Oh, yeah, I also recalled waking up in the middle of the night because I couldn't sleep," Orihime recollected.

"Why couldn't you sleep?" Alphonse asked her, concerned.

"Oh!" She gave a cheerful beam. "I just had a lot on my mind. That's all."

Al seem to nod in acceptance. However, Ed had thoughts contrary to his younger brother's. He wasn't fooled by her cheery smile, especially when it didn't reach her eyes. It was more wistful than anything. And with that forlorn, distant, and tender expression on her face, he had a very good idea on why Orihime was up on the roof last night. That would explain her lonesome, faraway, and warm expression when he spotted her staring up at the moon. All in all, being so keen and familiar with that look of longing, admiration, and love on Orihime's golden eyes left a somewhat bitter taste in his mouth and his heart to tighten. A surge of jealousy hit him with a sharp jolt to his heart,but he ignored it. This was no time to feel covetous towards Ichigo. He had a more grievous matter at hand.

"Yeah, we talked up on the roof, didn't we, Orihime?" Edward added.

She hummed in pleasant agreement, happily smiling away. Her smile was brighter this time, which pleased Ed.

"Oh?" Winry's blonde eyebrow quirked, intrigued, a teasing smirk. "What were you two doing up on the roof last night?"

"Seriously, Winry. Whatever you are thinking, stop it! Get your damn mind out of the gutter," Ed barked.

The blonde girl clicked her tongue, annoyed at being snapped at. "It's not my fault you two always flirt with each other whenever you guys are alone," she huffed, crossing her arms.

Her snarky comment caused the two aforementioned teenagers to blush a light shade of pink.

"Fl-fl-flirting?!" Orihime squeaked out, embarrassed.

"Dammit, Winry!" Edward roared, enraged, pounding his fist against the table. "Enough with your damn presumptions! Orihime and I _do not_ flirt with each other! Do I make myself clear?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," she waved him off, dismissively.

Edward growled, preparing to rebuttal with an angry retort until he was cut off by Orihime's distressful voice.

"How are we going to get back to normal?" she asked, tone filled with apprehension and distraught.

Nina tugged on her blue shirt, grabbing her attention. "Don't cry, big sis. It'll be okay," she tried reassuring her.

Orihime smiled, grateful for the comfort.

"First we need to figure out the cause of why brother and Orihime switching bodies," Alphonse inputted, everyone's attention on him now.

A thoughtful and silence filled the room with the foursome inwardly conjuring ideas and reasons for this odd circumstance they find themselves in.

"Well, there's nothing we could do about it now," Winry sighed in defeat.

"What? That's it? You're just going to give up?" Ed shouted, appalled.

She groaned, irritably. "Urgh! Shut up, Ed. If you have any idea, let's hear it."

Ed grunted, but said nothing else.

She sighed. "Look, I wasn't giving up and I'm not saying we should. What do you take me for, Ed? All I'm saying sitting here, doing nothing but thinking, isn't going to help the situation."

"I agree with Winry, brother," Al agreed. "None of us are getting any ideas just sitting here."

The elder Elric merely let out his own frustrated sigh of defeat, knowing Winry was right. Just sitting around on his ass isn't going to help matters. His attention was grabbed when Orihime made a noise of discomfort. She looked uncomfortable, her golden gaze drifting towards her right arm.

"Is something the matter, Orihime?" he asked her, his gray eyes filled with worry.

"Oh? It's nothing, Eddie," she replied, offering an uneasy smile. "Don't take this the wrong way, Eddie, but your right arm and left leg feel weird. They're heavy, and it feels awkward moving them like I'm weighted down by one side."

"Is that all?" Ed smirked. "Well, your chest is killer on my back, Orihime. It's so damn heavy. It's hard to keep straight," he countered, playfully. Although, the healer didn't take the comment in stride like he thought he would.

Her golden orbs were brimming with unshed tears. A sad, dejected look was etched on her face. "I'm… I'm fat?" she sniffed.

Edward instantly started to panic. "N-no! I didn't mean…! Orihime, that's not what I… Look, I'm sorry," he apologized, clumsily.

"Ed, you are such an idiot," Winry exhaled in exhaustion.

"Brother, we almost forgot!" Al shouted, suddenly, startling everybody.

"What is it, Al?" Edward asked, still in shock.

"What are we going to tell the colonel and the others?" Al fretted. "I mean, aren't you supposed to meet up with him later?"

"Aw, crap!" Ed cursed. "I completely forgot!"

"Should we just tell the colonel about you and Orihime switching bodies?"

"Hell no!" the older brother hastily and vehemently disagreed. "If he finds out I swapped bodies with someone else, he would hold it over me for the rest of my life. No thanks! I'm not going to be dealing with that type of humiliation and mockery."

"Brother," Al sighed in exasperation. "This isn't the time for your pride and stubbornness to get in the way of asking for help."

Ed merely huffed, crossing his arms, and refusing to budge from his decision to keep Mustang out of it.

"Then why don't Big Brother Ed pretend to be big sis, and Big Sis Ori pretend to be big brother?" Nina suggested, happily.

They all just stared at the young girl, surprised and stunned for a moment.

"That's actually not a bad idea, Nina," Winry said, proudly, after her initial shock faded away.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Ed burst out, hastily and repeatedly, putting a hand up in a halting motion. "Are you saying I should just pretend to be Orihime for the time being?"

The blonde mechanic shot him an incredulous look. "You're the one who, unintentionally, implied it, Ed. Since you didn't want anyone knowing that you are currently inhabiting Orihime's body."

The auburn haired alchemist just grunted. "Fine." Truthfully, it wasn't the idea of pretending to be Orihime that bothered him, but rather how would she feel about it?

"What about you, Orihime?" Winry directed her question at the blonde healer.

"Eh?" she responded, distractedly.

"How would you feel about being Edward for a while?" she elaborated. "Just until we can figure out a way to return back your body."

She caught off guard. Her be a boy? She was always wondered what it would be like to be a boy. Heck, she spent all day yesterday and last discussing it with Winry and Edward, respective with giddy excitement. Although, a sense of embarrassment and self consciousness also overtook her. Shyly, Orihime fidgeted, casting her nervous, golden gaze towards Ed. This was his body, after all. She doesn't want to do anything he would disapprove of. Whatever she does, would affect him in the end once they return to normal. "Only if Eddie's okay with it. It's his body," she spoke, quietly.

He merely shrugged, offering her an assuring grin. "Sure. If it's you, I don't mind."

A slight, happy smile graced the healer's lips. A loud growl then erupted from her stomach, causing her cheeks to become tinted with a light shade of pink out of embarrassment.

The room immediately fell into silence for a few moments.

Then Ed broke the silence by bursting into a fit of laughter. "Sounds like someone's hungry?" he giggled. "Was that way you were so distracted earlier, Orihime?" he teased. "Thinking more with your stomach than your head?"

Orihime blushed a deep crimson out of embarrassment. "Stop laughing at me, Eddie! You meanie!" she whined, a small pout forming on her lips.

Slowly, her smile and small fits of giggles escaped her. "I should start making breakfast."

"Wait," Al stopped her. "Shouldn't you guys change your clothes first?"

The suit of armor's seemingly innocent question left the two teens in a state of wide eyed shock and their faces grew red as a ripe tomato. Edward was busy remembering what happened earlier in the bathroom.

Unbeknownst to him though, Orihime was having the same mortifying thoughts.

For the two young teenagers, this was going to be a _long_ morning.

* * *

Orihime nervously watched as Edward fished around his room for his usual outfit. She anxiously sat on the bed, her hands fidgeting all while waiting for Ed to be done picking out her clothes. They already decided if they were to pretend to be each other, then it was best to let the other person choose the attire for the day.

However, that wasn't the only reason why she felt so uneasy, why her nerves wouldn't stop tingling. The silence was so awkward between them it was unbearable, but she doesn't know how she could break the ice.

"Listen," Edward started. "The colonel could be a real bastard at times, so don't let anything he says get to you, alright?" he said, trying to lighten the mood, but there was a nervous tremble in his feminine tone. He was just about as uneasy about all this as she was. He already finished grabbing his usual black attire. When he began opening a drawer, finishing for his boxer, Orihime let out a small squeak, her cheeks turning a dark shade of pink as she swiftly covered her face with her hands.

A tiny smirk made its way on Ed's lips when he heard Orihime's surprised squeak, her shyness breaking through. He, on the other hand, wasn't bashful or self conscious in the slightest. It wasn't because he felt no shame. He was simply so used to stripping down to his boxers whenever he has to get his automail repaired that he has become desensitized by this point.

"There!" he announced, quietly slamming the drawer shut. His amused smirk was still plastered on his face when he noticed Orihime still hasn't uncovered her eyes. "You know, you could open your eyes now."

"Y-you're done?" she asked in a small, timid voice.

He chuckled. "Yeah, I'm done."

Hesitantly, she slowly opened her golden orbs, and sure enough Ed was holding out his signature outfit for her to wear. However, when she spotted the pair of blue boxers he shamelessly held, her face flushed, she let out a tiny squeak, and she swiftly averted her eyes.

"Um?" she spoke, shyly, eyes still averted. "How are we going to do this?"

Ed tilted his head, confused, obviously clueless about what got her so nervous and flustered. "What do you mean 'how are we going to do this'? Just change your clothes."

"B-b-but…" She pointed a shaky finger at his blue boxers.

"Oh?" His confusion was ever present, then his gray orbs brightened in panicked realization before his own cheeks started to flush a light shade of pink. "Oh! Oh, right," he fumbled. "That _is_ a problem."

There was an awkward pause, the embarrassment lingering in the air between the two faintly blushing teenagers. The uneasy and clumsy tension was rather thick.

"T-take off your clothes," Ed stuttered out, his face reddening even more by the request.

"E-Eddie!" Orihime squawked, turning bright red, subconsciously clutching her blue shirt as she self consciously shifted on the bed. Even though she was in a guy's body, more specifically Ed's, she still had the mindset of a shy, modest girl.

"No, no! That's not what I meant!" Ed exclaimed, face beet red as he waved his hands in front of him in a frantic and extremely embarrassed gesture. "I meant close your eyes, and take off your clothes! I-I'll change you."

The blonde girl stayed apprehensively quiet while the ginger haired boy gulped, nervously. She slowly nodded her head, not trusting her voice. Closing her eyes and self consciously biting her bottom lip in that nervous habit of hers, she tentatively took her shirt off. She carefully threw it away, not knowing where it landed since her eyes were closed. Trying to make sure there was no undershirt, she touched her chest, causing her to her blush, lightly when she felt nothing but hard abs and pecs.

Orihime resisted the urge to squeak, her face feeling incredibly hot. She was reminded of how incredibly muscular Ed's body really was underneath all his clothes, and despite his short stature, he really did have a well built physique.

It brought back memories of the time in Rush Valley. The time he just standing in the middle of the street half naked, face flushed with anger and embarrassment. At the time, she didn't mean to stare. But she couldn't help it. She was practically hypnotized by how ripped he was. The heat caused his chiseled chest to glisten with sweat.

Oh, great! Now, she sounded like a pervert. Her face reddened, tremendously. She was a bad girl. She shouldn't be thinking such indecent thoughts about her friends.

"Uh, Orihime?" Her ears perked up at the sound of Edward's soft, concerned voice. "Are you alright? Why's your face red? If it's too much for you, I can do it."

She resisted the urge to cry out in shock and surprise. "No, no, that's okay!" she replied in a panicked and flustered tone. She quickly unbuckled her belt and threw them away long with her pants and boxers. The instant she was discarded of all article of clothing, she felt a weird breeze on her lower area. Her entire face flushed a deep crimson red, knowing _exactly_ where that feeling was pressing on.

This was weird. That was Ed's first thought. Looking at himself, at his own body from an outside perspective, exposed and nude was utterly bizarre. Although, he should stop staring like an idiot and started getting some fresh, new clothes because there's no doubt Orihime was getting increasingly uncomfortable by the minute.

Just remembering that it's _Orihime_ in _his naked body_ caused a slight blush to adorn Ed's cheeks. He aggressively slapped his own face. The force of the impact resulted in him letting out a small grunt of pain. He collapsed on the floor, anime style.

"Edward, what happened?" Orihime's concerned voice rang out, despite the awkwardness in her tone. "I heard you fall."

Raising his hand, he gripped the edge of the wooden drawer, and used it as leverage to pull himself. Geez, this was no time for him to be acting like an idiot. "I-I'm fine, Orihime," he replied as confidently as he could. "Just tripped. That's all. Nothing to worry about."

He propped open the drawer. His gray eyes roaming through his boxers. He willed his heart to stop hammering furiously against his chest. All he had to do was pick out a fresh pair of underwear. His mind wondered about which color would be nice? Which one would look best? Which one was the most attractive?

His face grew slightly hot. Dammit! What's wrong with him? Why was he obsessing over something as trivial as picking a pair of boxers? Why does it matter? It's not as if Orihime's going to see.

Growling in frustration, Ed just randomly picked one. The pair he picked were white boxers. Now, he just had to hand it over to a fidgety Orihime. Okay… No problem.

Urgh! He tried to shut off his brain. Tried not to think too hard about _Orihime touching his underwear_. Because he wholeheartedly understood that if even takes a _second_ to contemplate the fact she would be touching, he would _absolutely_ die of embarrassment. His heart was already thundering against his chest at a million miles a minute.

"H-here!" He inwardly cursed himself for squeaking out in embarrassment like that. "Um, here," he repeated, this time more calmly and a tad bit less awkward, holding his boxers out for her to wear.

He watched as Orihime tentatively stretched her hand out to grab the article of clothing, a light pink blush still dusting her cheeks. With her eyes remaining closed, so it took her a few trips until she finally held his boxers firmly in her grip. His boxers. _His boxers_. This is the most awkward moment of his entire life. Could his face get any hotter?

His gray orbs eyed her as she clumsily attempted to put his underwear on. She finally managed to do it, but...it was on backwards. Should he tell her she has it on backwards? Or should he just leave it as is? It's not like anyone would be seeing it.

His brain began wracking what would be the best course of action to take in this scenario. A scenario that won't leave them crushing underneath a sea of embarrassment and mortification. A _huge_ part of him wanted to keep his mouth shut. What were the chances she had to take her pants off and show her underwear? Very slim. Next to nothing. Unless something happens to his automail.

Aw! Fuck! His automail gets destroyed almost _all the time_. And since he was supposed to be meeting Mustang, it's highly likely he would assigned another mission. No doubt Mustang would probably assign him someplace dangerous. And nine times out of ten his automail always gets wrecked one way or another.

He should… He should just tell her. The guilt was too much. He would _never_ want her to suffer that kind of humiliation. Just imagining her teary eyed face caused his heart to ache, painfully. He would be his fault if Orihime ended up in such an embarrassing situation because he knew about the backwards underwear, but didn't say anything about it. His guilt would only increase tenfold. It would end up being so unbearable that he doubted he would be able to look her in the eye, let alone, talk to her for weeks.

"Um, Orihime?" Edward croaked out, nervously. "I should probably tell you…" He gulped down the sense of uneasiness and anxiety that was climbing up his throat. He wondered how she would react. Would she get angry? Would she cry? Would she squeak in embarrassment? Would she...blame him? Accuse him of trying to humiliate her?

He couldn't escape this overwhelming sense of apprehension. He had already decided to rip this bandage off. He shouldn't be such a coward and delay it any further. Whatever happened, he would take it...and accept it...like a man!

"You'reunderwearisonthewrongway!"

"Eh?" was Orihime's utterly confused reply to Ed's hurriedly jumbled mess of words.

"_Shit!"_ Ed inwardly cursed himself for letting his nerves beset him so much. He blushed, beads of sweat dripping down from the side of her face. "Uh, Orihime? You're underwear is on backwards," he managed to utter out. Despite how anxious he was feeling, he was proud of himself for not sounding like a stuttering fool. He watched a whole fluid of emotions cross her facial features. From confusion to surprise until she settled for absolute embarrassment. Her entire countenance turned a deep shade of red, though, thankfully, her eyes were still closed. He could picture his own face was just as red as hers. As red as a ripe tomato. Right now, he was currently wishing his heart would stop beating so erratically.

"I…? I am?" It was weird to hear his usually high pitched, yet deep voice squeak out in complete astonishment and wholly flustered.

"Y-yeah," Edward said, awkwardly, sheepishly scratching the back of his head. "Just...take them off and turn them the other way."

"Oh? Okay," she replied, so shyly, so hesitantly. He could clearly understand her nervousness, her reluctance to do so. Regardless, the blonde girl still took off her boxers. She bit back her a flustering noise. Tightly gripping the underwear, she gingerly turned it around. Sucking in a deep, discomposed breath, she swiftly pulled on the boxers, releasing a sigh of relief once the garment was back on.

Reaching out her hand, Orihime slightly flailed her arms about as if she was to grab a hold of something.

He could only raise a ginger eyebrow in confusion. Only for them widen in realization, and he mentally slapped himself for his stupidity. She's waiting for her other clothes. "Right," he uttered, hurriedly, digging into his closet. "Just stay right there. I'll grab the pants and shirt." He quickly grabbed his usual leather pants and black shirt from the doorframe. He handed her the pants first. It was a no brainer as to why.

When Ed noticed her questioning expression, he elaborated. "Those are my pants."

She nodded, her hands feeling around the zipper. When she gripped the metal handle, she carefully slid her hand down to open its metal teeth. Holding the smooth, sleek pants in their precise, she proceeded to dress herself, one foot then the other. Once it was secured, she zipped it back up.

"You can open your eyes now," Ed announced. He watched Orihime slowly pry her golden eyes open. The first thing she did was hesitantly glance down at herself in apprehensive, only to draw a sigh of relief when she eyed the fact that she was decent. Although, a huge blushed crossed the bridge of her nose and cheeks when she took notice of her naked, sculpted chest.

"Um, can I have a shirt to put on now?" she asked, shyly holding her hand out.

Edward's own face flushed out of awkward embarrassment. "Oh, right." He handed her his black t shirt and leather jacket, which she graciously wore.

The room was filled with compromising, relieved silence until Orihime broke it with a series of small giggles.

"Now, it's my turn to play dress up with you, Eddie!" she laughed, though he picked up an undertone hint of nervousness spiking through. She was trying to alleviate the uncomfortable tension, which caused his lips tilt upward into a small grin.

With a pep in her step, she bounced out of the room, cheerily beckoning him along. That smile she sent him was enough to warm his heart. It was refreshing to know that, no matter what the body, Orihime could still produce that same blessed, heartwarming smile that just melts his heart. The smile that always filled him with such unyielding contentment and peaceful tranquility. He felt so at ease and in peace just seeing her smile. The beautiful, loving, bright, and radiant smile he wanted to protect. The same smile...he fell in love with.

That is why…

That is why…

"Orihime, I promise I'd fix this somehow," he spoke, determinedly.

Golden eyes widened in surprise at the strong declaration. Even though he was wearing her face, she caught the powerful resolve in his gray orbs all the same. The unwavering conviction in his words were piercing right through her, causing her heart to pound faster than usual. Her cheeks warmed and there were swarms of butterflies invading her stomach.

Edward always had a knack for making her feel better. To be able to lift away her anxiety was just a few, self assured, passionate words that comes right from his soul. His unparalleled determination really reminded her of...Ichigo.

She smiled, warmly. "I know."

* * *

Edward take back what he said several moments ago. _This_ was the most awkward, embarrassing, and uncomfortable moment in his life. His eyes were closed so tightly, he could feel the skin around them being squeezed. But his chest… His chest felt so _heavy_. He blushed as he tried so hard not to think about it.

However, how could he not?! With the slightest of movements, they..._jiggled_.

Ed's blush turned redder.

_Shit_! He couldn't help it! It was not his fault he was so damn hypersensitive to every time they moved, wiggled, or bounced.

Not only that, but… Damn! His back was killing him! How could Orihime live like this every fucking day?! Just the thought caused him to shake in horror. Do all girls have this problem, or was it just her? Man, it felt like he might have series back problems later on.

When he felt something grab them, unexpectedly, his gray eyes instantly shot open in surprise and he yelped as he sprung backwards. They were extra sensitive to touch, too!

The auburn haired boy openly gaped, wide eyed and utterly stunned at the blonde girl as she gazed back him with stupefied, golden eyes. Her own cheeks were a rosy shade of pink. Her expression was one of absolute bewilderment, paralyzing alarm, and frozen panic as if she was caught red handed committing an atrocious act.

"I...uh…," was all Orihime managed to stutter out in a flustered tone.

The awkwardness of this situation was so , it was with both teens simply staring at each other, wide eyed and completely red faced. If someone were to barge in at this moment they would catch of glimpse of Orihime palming one of Edward's extremely humongous melons.

Gray eyes drifted downwards, only to stare in absolute amazement and stunned dumbfoundment. Orihime's hand, _his_ hand couldn't even _fit_ around the squishy flesh, showcasing _exactly _how enormous her mounds were. His face only grew even more hot.

"Uh…!" No coherent words left his mouth. His greatly red faced expression were a mixture of dumbstruck astoundment and flustered amazement.

Now, Ed was normally a chaste and respectable guy. He was by no means a pervert. He would never think such dirty thoughts or have indecent fantasies about girls. He wasn't a skirt chasing bastard like Mustang.

But...still... Overall, he was, nevertheless, a _man_. And his flabbergasted male mind could only think of one, chorent thing, no matter how perverted and shameless it sounded in his short circuit state… _"Wow! These are _huge_!"_ He had to resist the urge to have a nosebleed. Though, he was failing miserable as he could feel something wet and warm trickling down his nose.

Edward found himself grunting in surprise when his face was pushed away, so his vision shifted away from his large chest.

"You're…! You're looking! You're looking! Stop! Don't look! Don't stare at them! Turn away!" Orihime's panicked voice sounded out, frantically, her hand continually to forcibly push his head away. Hearing the underlying embarrassment in her whimpering voice made him feel like a real jerk. A perverted idiot.

"Sorry!" he exclaimed out, just as flustered, squeezing his eyes shut. And he genuinely was. He was an idiot! What the hell was he thinking?! He never felt so ashamed of himself.

She sniffed. "Y-you promised you wouldn't look."

"I know. I'm sorry," he responded, shamefully. His heart stung. He made her cry. He was the worst. Such utter scum. He could clearly imagine what Al and Winry would say. Al would look at him with such blatant disappointment, knowing he had a pervy, older brother, and Winry would beat him senseless. Though, he was more worried, concerned, and terrified about what Orihime would think of him. No doubt she was utterly disgusted by his behavior. Betrayed by his tactlessness. She probably doesn't want to talk to him anymore. His heart fell like a ton of bricks. He had to find someway to make it up to her later.

There was an awkward and tense silence. A quietness so thick a knife could cut it.

With Ed's vision obscured, he used his other senses like his hearing and sense of smell to figure out what was going on around him. He picked up the sound of shuffling clothes. Now, that his eyes were shut, he could concentrate on his other senses, and because of that he could catch the sweet scent that permeated the room. A familiar, intoxicating, strawberry aroma. He recognized this scent. It was...

_Orihime's _scent.

This was undoubtedly her smell. Although, it was intermingled with other scents. Of course other aromas would be mixed in it. Winry and Nina live in this room as well. He could smell the scent of oil and peaches, and fresh water and sunflowers. He figured those scents belonged to Winry and Nina's respectively.

Even so… Even so… He clung to Orihime's fragrance. Though it was funny how he instinctively picked up and desperately embraced her aroma. And why wouldn't he? It was the loveliest of them all. He stopped himself, completely stunned. Wait! Did he say 'loveliest'? Not only her scent, but her very presence was warm, inviting, and serene.

He blushed. How many times was he going to blush in a span of half an hour? He found himself heavily enticed with everything that was Orihime. She was beautiful, kind, smart, funny in an oddball way, endearing, and had compassion like no other.

He blushed, harder. No! He did _not_ have a crush on her! He was just stating some facts through months of observation. It's… I-it's like he liked her or anything. Hold up! He wasn't saying there was anything wrong with Orihime. He just liked her as a friend. Yeah, that's right. A _friend_. She was just a friend to him. He doesn't like her in _that_ way.

In no way, under _any_ circumstances had he ever thought of dating her. Taking her out to dinner. Just the two of them. Alone. In a nice restaurant. Holding her hand. Wondering how dainty, soft, and delicate her hands were. A rosy dust colored blush would take form on her porcelain skin. They would take a pleasant walk. Enjoying each other's company. Talking about everything and nothing.

But… Nope! He had never thought of any of that. And he sure as hell wasn't thinking it now. No, he wasn't thinking of anything strange. He was _not_ imagining it. He wasn't picturing Orihime's bright, gray eyes, long eyelashes, and beautiful, heart shaped face framed by her alluring, auburn hair waving gently in the breeze. Her pink, pouty lips. So luscious. So irresistible. So...kissable.

Ed's entire face and ears burned. Smoke were coming from his ears. There was a loud, sizzling sound similar to a water filled kettle being brought to a boil. His entire body was as hot as a volcano. He internally pounded against a brick wall, hard and repeatedly.

Orihime stared at Edward, clearly confused. His face was all red. Was he having a fever? Was he sick? Or was he…?

Her face grew warmer. She was so embarrassed. He was staring at her…!

She felt hot tears prick at the corner of her eyes. It wasn't his fault though. It was hers. Her fault touching his chest. She surprised him so much that he couldn't help but stare.

But Ed wasn't like that. Tatsuki had drilled it into her head that boys would often have...fantasies about girls. But Edward wouldn't. He would not dream about her. Why would he? She was weak, useless, and a burden. He doesn't know...how broken she truly is. Because of her, Ichigo was hurt so badly. Plus, he saw her bust! Now, he was thinking of how much of a freak she was for having such overly large bust.

The blonde girl had always been uncomfortable and insecure about her chest size. She wasn't completely oblivious to the way guys look at her, by the way they stare, leering at her chest. There were a couple of times back home when she's been stalked before. Though, she had usually managed to make them lose her trail. Sometimes hanging out with Tatsuki or Ichigo would scare them off. Although, her unbearably large bosoms continuously gave her the wrong kind of attention. She hated the fact that guys would drool over them like a pack of wild animals, or that girls would envious of them, assuming that she does _things_ with them. Assuming that she _developed_ earlier and making presumptions that she was sweet during the day and naughty at night. She couldn't count the number of times during her first couple of months of her first semester of high school that guys would ask her out because of that. Of course, they eventually stopped. Tatsuki managed to put an end to those rumors by beating the jealous, upperclassmen girls half to death and threatening any boy who dares to ask Orihime out on the sole belief that she would be an easy ride. Unfortunately, that never solved her confidence over her chest. They always, _always_ presented her with the _wrong_ kind of attention.

A stream of tears fall from her eyes. Shoot! Now, she was crying. How pathetic. She's been like this. Pathetic and weak. She needed to stop. She shouldn't burden Ed with her tears. She should stop this instant.

The blonde girl sniffed, furiously wiping away her tears. Unfortunately, Ed must've heard her.

"Orihime, are you crying?" Ed asked, very concerned. Eyes closed, his head tilted in the direction where he could smell the salt of her tears, worry etched onto his features. He was beginning to panic. Did he make her cry? He was a massive, insensitive jerk. "Orihime, don't cry, okay? I'm sorry, I shouldn't have looked when I promised not to. I'll make it up to you. I'll fix this. I promise," he proclaimed, passionately and reassuringly. He always hates it when Orihime cries. He had to fix this, and return them back to normal.

Orihime was utterly stunned and baffled by his declaration. She could hear the loud thumping of her heart and feel the blood rushing to her face. Once her initial shock was gone, a light, gentle smile took shape. "It's not your fault, Eddie, but thank you," she replied, sweetly. See! This was the kindness she was talking about. He always tries to make her feel better, even if he has an awkward and clumsy way of doing it. He was a good friend.

A small girl escaped her lips, causing Edward to raise a brow in confusion.

"Looking at myself, at my own body from a different angle, from an outside seems kind of weird," the blonde girl laughed.

An amused grin graced Ed's lips before he burst into his own fit of laughter. "I know what you mean. I'm a lot shorter up close!" As soon as he realized what he had just said, his chuckles instantly stopped. A cloud of defeat and depression hovered over him. It took all his willpower and a little reminder that he was in Orihime's body not to punch himself right then and there.

"I… I just called myself sho...sho...short," the auburn haired boy moaned with dejected misery. As much as he wanted to deny it, he couldn't escape reality. When he was inspecting his own body, he noticed he had to look slightly downwards to make eye contact with his own golden orbs. He was approximately two or three inches shorter than Orihime. That doesn't mean his pride wasn't shot.

Orihime blinked, highly worried and mystified. Though, the scene before her was actually pretty funny. It was hilarious! She laughed even harder. She knew it was rude to laugh at Edward's misfortune, but she couldn't help it. The expressions he made were too funny!

Ed perked up at the wondrous sound leaving Orihime. This what he wanted. Her always laughing. Always smiling. Radiating nothing but joy and happiness. Sunny and bright. Full of life. That's the Orihime he wants to see every second of everyday. That's the Orihime he wants, _needs_ by his side. That strong, vibrant light.

Once her laughter finally died down, the blonde girl wiped away the stray tear from the corner of her left eye using the forefinger of her left hand. She held up the panties she had picked, a light blush now adorning her face. It was a simple, cotton pink panty with a small red bow at the top center. She had also choose a matching pink bra to go along with it.

Okay… How was she going to do this? Should she have him put it on like she did with his clothes? But if she did… Her ears burned. Edward would be _touching_ her _panties_! _Her underwear_! The very prospect of it was embarrassing!

She shook her head, vigorously. No, she couldn't have him touching them. Even with his eyes closed. She was scared he would say something, feel the sting of humiliation if he uttered a word about her panties.

"Um, Eddie," Orihime began, shyly. "Could you…?" She nervously licked her suddenly dry lips. "Could you sit on the bed for me?"

Ed quirked an auburn brow in puzzlement. "...Okay," he eventually responded, unsurely. When he carefully plopped down on the bed, the first thing he noticed was the warmth that vibrated through him and the smell of strawberries that still lingered. However, that's not entirely the case. What truly stuck out to him was the fluffy softness of the bed touching his bare skin, his _bare butt_, making him realize once more, with absolute certainty that he was completely naked in _Orihime's_ body. He also felt kind of drafty down..._there_.

He grew extremely hot, and his face flushed a deep crimson. Oh, man…! A woman's body is _significantly_ different from a man's. His awkwardness and humiliation would just keep on growing, wouldn't it? The sarcastic quip stirred, despairingly shameful in his head.

Ed almost jumped when he felt something touch his right foot, a pair of slightly rough hands trying to lift his leg.

"S-sorry!" Orihime squeaked out, apologetically, instantly letting go of his leg as if her touch poisoned him somehow.

"No, it's okay. You just surprised me is all," he said, offering her a reassuring smile.

She bobbed her head, a shy smile graced her lips. She gazed at Ed's leg slowly lifting itself, signaling her to continue what she was doing. She understood that needed to hurry. She doubted that Ed could stand being naked any longer.

Plus, she had a meeting to attend to in his place. Though, thinking about her nervous and her heart to pound with anxiety. What if Ed's superior discovers she's not the real Ed? Would she get in trouble? Just how much trouble? Would it be serious enough for her to land in jail for impersonating a State Alchemist? Because back home she knew it was illegal to imitate some professional occupations such as a doctor or a police officer. But what would happen to Ed if she got caught? Would he be in trouble as well? Would they revoke his license?

These restlessly apprehensive thoughts swirled around inside her head. There were just so many matters and certain conditions to consider because of this body swapping situation. Would it be alright if she voiced her concerns out loud?

Orihime rose a brow in curiosity when she witnessed Ed's legs squirm a bit when she put the panties on. She knew he was squirming because he felt slightly uncomfortable, and she drew emphatic towards his state of discomfort. She bit the inside of her bottom lip, feeling very nervous and uneasy when it came time to dress a bra on him, remembering the awkwardness and embarrassment that transpired between them when she impulsively wanted to examine her own body's chest.

She didn't mean for that mortifyingly abashed and ridiculously unpleasant mishap to happen. Guess, curiosity got the best of her. She was just entranced at how different her body looked from an outside perspective. It was fascinating to see what other people see when looking at her. Though, the only thing that greatly bothered her was that her bosoms were larger than she expected. A depressing, foreboding sense of disheartened sadness and self conscious discontentment overtook her when inspected her overly large melons.

The blonde girl carefully and slowly guided Ed's arms through the straps of her pink bra. She heard Ed flinch slightly and bite back a startled moan when her hand accidentally brushed against the underside of his bust when trying to adjust the cups of the bra. She apologized, profusely, face red with embarrassment.

At last, she was done dressing her underwear on him. She blushed. There's a thought she would never believe would cross her mind. But now that she was done with the mind numbingly discomfiting task, the rest should a lot easier from here on out.

Orihime thrust her closet open. Originally, she was going to just have Edward wear her school uniform, but since he is a _boy_, she doesn't know how he would feel about wearing a skirt. Maybe she should have him wear pants, or even shorts instead. She didn't want him to appear uncomfortable by sporting on something he's not used to.

Her golden orbs scanned the assortment of clothes in her closet, meticulously searching for the right outfit. Besides shorts and pants, she narrowed her options down to something more casual.

Ah, ha!

Her eyes lit up when she found something that fit her criteria. A pair of light gray shorts, black tights, brown, laced, flat boots, a dark pink, ruffled, halter top, and a light gray jacket with a few zippers on the left chest pocket and on both sides of the waist that could be used for pockets.

She guided Edward to a standing position, indicating to him that he doesn't need to sit on the bed anymore. Taking the initiative, he carefully maneuvered his body in the upright position until he was on his feet once more. She handed him each piece of clothing one by one, and patiently watched as put on each article of the garment. The awkwardness of his movement was mostly gone, meaning he was beginning to get more comfortable in her body.

She was just happy and relieved that the somber and awkward mood between them was gone now that they were both fully dressed. Who knew exhausting and stressful putting clothes on would be? It felt like a few hours have passed, but, truthfully, only half of one did.

"Oh, man! I never been this stressed of getting dressed before," Edward grumbled, tiredly, but there was a hint of at ease in his tone. His gray eyes were now opened since there was no reason to keep it closed any longer.

Orihime giggled, lightly, understanding completely what he meant. A small gasp of excitement escaped her as she gleefully bounced over to the small drawer next to her bed. Ed quirked an auburn brow, eyeing her, curiously, wondering what's gotten her so giddy all of a sudden.

His silent question was answered she pulled out a brown brush from the drawer along with some hair ties and thin ribbons. She skipped right back over to him, a bright, peppy etched across her face. She climbed onto the bed, and eagerly signaled for him to sit in front of her.

"Why?" Ed questioned with an inquisitive brow.

"I want to do your hair!" Orihime exclaimed, ebulliently, no longer able to hold in her thrilling excitement.

The auburn haired boy opened and closed his mouth for several seconds. The idea of doing something as girly as letting her style his hair didn't exactly appeal to him. However, he couldn't ignore the zealous enthusiasm and passionate delight strongly radiating from the blonde girl. He quietly weighed his options, and then figured...what the heck? It's not much of a big deal. Plus, the prospect was making her genuinely happy.

Edward bobbed his head and scooted back some more until he got into a position they were both comfortable with. With a large smile gracing Orihime's lips, she began brushing his long, ginger hair, meticulous getting rid of any knots and tangles all the while humming a happy tone to herself.

"How do you want your hair?" the blonde girl politely asked. "Do you want it braided like you always do, or is a ponytail fine? Or are you okay with how it is now?" She was joyfully bouncing on the bed and speaking so fast, he could barely keep up.

Ed chuckled at her vigorous and bubbly attitude. "You can do whatever you want."

Orihime let out an excited squeal and proceeded to get to work in styling his hair. "Then I'm going to do a simple braided ponytail," she told him.

The pleasant silence lasted for half an hour. Edward silently enjoyed the gentle fingers of hers running through his hair. He imagined if that was what it would feel like, if he ever gathered the courage to just tenderly run his _real_ fingers through her _real_ hair. Would she enjoy it just as much? Would she find comfort in his warm touches? Would she end up being so relaxed that she would end up falling asleep in his lap. Would she...love it?

Though, he greatly enjoyed this relaxing atmosphere, he still needed to finally get into the meat of the problem. What was he going to do about the meeting with Mustang? He understood at this point that Orihime would be going in his place. There's no stopping that.

The biggest problem was that Mustang was smart. He was not stupid. He was acutely aware that there was a high chance a short joke or two would be thrown in. Orihime wasn't much of a confrontational person. Actually, she was more likely to burst into tears than get angry and yell. She was gentle and mild mannered. As much as he dearly cherished that aspect of her personality, that would probably get her caught. The likelihood of that happening caused him to growl, lowly under his breath. He'd fucking kill Mustang if dares to lay a finger on her! No matter how justified from his perspective!

"Orihime?" Ed spoke, getting her attention.

"Hmm?" she hummed, showcasing that she was listening. She was almost done with his hair. She was applying the finishing touches to it.

"Listen, Orihime," he started, his tone flavored with firm seriousness. "Whatever, the colonel says, don't let him get to you. He could be a bastard sometimes. Scratch that. He's a bastard all the time. He's conceited and arrogant and always tries to find ways to get under my skin." He groaned in frustration, wondering why he was babbling like an idiot. "Look! What am trying to say is that the colonel is smart, so be careful. If he does anything, tell me."

Even though, Orihime couldn't observe Ed's expression due to his back facing her, she could still figure out the hidden meaning behind his words just by the sound of tone and voice. The words, 'I'll protect you', hung silently in the air. Her heart fluttered. He was so sweet! She truly appreciated his worry and concern for her wellbeing.

She giggled, softly. "You don't have to worry about me, Eddie. I won't let some mean words affect me. I'm a big girl! I'm tough! I've got thick skin," she proclaimed, proudly, comically puffing out her chest.

Ed's own amused laughter escaped her. "Okay, okay. You're a big girl. I know you can take care of yourself. But that won't stop me from worrying about you. I...care about you, you know," he admitted with a light pink blush adorning his cheeks.

Orihime smiled, sweetly, touched by his . "I care about you, too, Eddie." She just finished tying up Ed's hair. "There!" she exclaimed, joyfully. "Go on! Go have a look!" she urged him, excitedly.

"Okay! Okay!" Ed sighed in exasperation at her behavior zestful. Although, there was a playful undertone in his voice. He climbed out of the bed and headed into the bathroom, being the only place nearby that has a mirror. Orihime giddily followed after him.

He stared at himself in the reflective glass and was somewhat surprised at what he saw. He thought she was merely doing a simple ponytail, but this is… This is…more than he expected. She really went...all out for a simple ponytail. He wondered if she just got carried away, or if she genuinely enjoyed fixing his hair and tried to make the most of it.

His long, auburn hair was tied into a high ponytail. A strand of his hair was braided on both left and right side. They led up to the ponytail was also braided and held by a couple of hair ties. There was one at the base and one at the end to keep it in place. His bangs still framed his face. The whole hairstyle wasn't extravagant, but it should hardly be called simplistic. It was…charming. That's the best way he could describe it. Simply charming.

"Well? How do you like it? Think it's good?" Orihime queried, eagerly, a gleeful smile plastered on her countenance.

Ed turned away from the mirror to face her, his lips formed into a thin line. "Don't you think it's a little too much?" he questioned with uncertainty and a slight sense of distaste. He was a boy. Naturally, he wasn't into girly things. He wasn't sure about having his hair done like this.

A sad pout materialized on her face in response. "You don't like it?"

"_Oh, man,"_ he inwardly groaned. _"Not _that_ face."_ She was sending him her signature puppy dog look. The trembling pouty lips, the big, wide, watery eyes, and the disheartened, furrowed eyebrows. The hell? How could she still give him that same look in _his_ body? It's like she subconsciously knew that he couldn't resist that unrelenting cheerless dispiritingly unhappy stare. He could _never_ say 'no' when she shot him that look.

Eventually, he gave in and sighed, defeatedly. "It's fine."

Her golden eyes lit up. "Really?"

He blushed, awkwardly scratching the back of his head. "Yeah. It's nice...I-I guess."

She beamed, brightly. "Yay!" A slight grin appeared on Ed's face from her happy demeanor. She dug into her pocket, earning a raised eyebrow from Ed. He watched as she pulled out her distinctive, cyan blue, floral hairpins and the rosy pink rose stud earrings he remembered giving her in Rush Valley.

He furrowed his brow in confusion when she held them out him, shyly nibbling on her bottom lip. "What's this? Why are you giving me your hairpins and earrings?"

A shade of pink colored her cheeks. She bashfully shifted her gaze away from him. "It… It's for you to wear," she finally replied, meekly.

"No, I can't wear them!" the auburn haired boy refused, vehemently, furiously shaking his head. There's no way he could take something precious from her. Even if it was to keep up appearances for a few days or weeks. Those accessories were important to her. He remembered that the hairpins were a gift from her late brother. Al told him about him. He gave them to her the day before he died in a car accident. She has worn in it ever since in memory of her dear, older brother.

And those earrings… He gave them to her. Why did he buy her earrings as a present? Uh, no reason. Orihime's been a good friend for him and Al. She's always been overly sweet, incredibly gentle, and passionately caring, looking after them in times of trouble, and staying by their side. He just wanted to purchase a gift for her as thanks for her kindness. Nothing more than that. It certainly wasn't because he was attracted to her unyielding and admirably compassionate nature. The relentless way she goes about helping anyone in need, and healing anyone in distress, no matter how good or evil. Even if they hurt her, that won't stop her from aiding them. She was selfless, brave, kind hearted, and forgiving like that. It's what draws him to her and makes him constantly worry about. Worried that someone may take advantage of her generosity. It's why he's so overprotective of her sometimes. So, no, it wasn't because he liked her because of her kind, gentle, warm, outgoing, and bubbly personality and her strong, loving heart that holds compassion inside its core the size of the universe. And _absolutely not_ because her smiles are always so enchantingly beautiful. He was _not_ trying to woo her! Wasn't like that at all! They were just friends! Nothing more, nothing less.

The blonde girl looked unsure as if she was troubled by something. "Okay, the hairpins I understand, but the earrings…?" she protested, quietly. She was staring at the jewelry with longing. Honestly, she wanted to keep it on her person. However, she understood, for appearance's sake, Ed had to wear them.

Ed shook his head. He chuckled, slightly amused, although, his face still held a stern expression. He wasn't backing down from this minor argument. He wasn't going to give in to her stubbornness. "I bought them for you. Not me. Even if I'm in your body and your in mine, I only want you wear them. No one else because…" He could feel his cheeks heating up, instantly stopping himself from saying something he would regret, feeling kind of embarrassed. "...Look! There for you, okay? So, just keep it."

Orihime smiled, sweetly at his . Her golden gaze drifted, fondly to the earrings. "You know, these are the first pair of earrings I've ever gotten. Everyone always tells them that I'm too young and innocent to even think about piercing my ears. Despite my friends discouraging me from wearing them, truthfully, I would occasionally imagined myself with a pair. Though, I would stop myself. I didn't want my friends thinking badly of me. So, I was so happy when you gave them these earrings, Eddie," she , wiping away a stray tear. "So incredibly happy. That's why I would always treasure them. Thank you, Eddie," she finished with such heartfelt gratitude and contentedly elated in her voice. She held the accessories tenderly to her heart. "Both of these are very precious to me. I would always cherish them for as long as I live. Remember what I said? I like these earrings because _you_ gave them to me, Eddie," she finished, sincerely.

With a reddened face, Edward sheepishly scratched his nose. He willed his heart to stop pounding so loudly against his ribs, fearing that Orihime would hear it. He honestly had no idea how much she wholeheartedly fancied the rose stud earrings she gave her. Guess, he never really realized how much she truly appreciated the gift. His heart swelled with pride and joy.

He crossed his arms, stubbornly, trying to mask his euphoric pleasure and bewitching and awkward embarrassment behind his usual steely belligerent, aggressively nonchalant, and fierce boisterous exterior. "Just don't lose it, you whackjob. Okay?" he remarked, insistently, although there was a pleased sense of exhilarated happiness in his tone that he failed to overshadow completely, and also using his pseudo insulting, yet endearing nickname that he calls her at times.

"I won't! I promise! I'll wear them everyday!" she exclaimed, happily. She stuffed both her hairpins and earrings into her pocket without any further delay. Afterwards, she shot Edward her brilliantly bewitching smile that shines as bright as the sun. The same smile that causes Ed heart to almost burst at that very moment.

They were both slightly stunned with surprise when Orihime's glowed a yellowish orange flash of light. The light sprung forward, and scattered into several, tiny specks. The lights eventually faded to reveal Orihime's little fairy sprites. The personified manifestation of her powers.

"Tsubaki? Shuno'o? You guys? What are you doing out?" Orihime exclaimed, utterly baffled.

Tsubaki and the others gazed at her with a look of perplexity.

"Huh?! What's with you, shorty? Why are you giving us that look?" Tsubaki questioned, haughtily, hovering over to her, his hands on his hips.

Orihime blinked. "It's me, Tsubaki. It's Orihime," she said, pointing to herself.

He just stared at her in disbelief. Her other fairies gazed at her with equal bewilderment.

"Orihime?" Shuno'o cried, utterly shocked. She drifted her gaze over to Ed who was currently occupying her body. "But how…? She frantically glanced between the two teenagers. "What are you…? How? Why are you in someone else's body?"

Orihime just laughed, sheepishly while Edward folded his arms with a scowl etched on his face. It was obvious that he was angered by Tsubaki's short comment, even though the tiny male pixie wasn't talking to him. Though, that doesn't stop Ed from finding Tsubaki so damn annoying! He was the exact _opposite _of Orihime! Rude, obnoxious, quick tempered, and aggressive. How the hell does Orihime put up with him? It's a complete mystery.

"Uh, it's a long story," the blonde girl explained, awkwardly. "But I'm in Eddie's body, and he's in my body. Um, we don't know how this happened, but we are doing everything we possible can to figure it out." She blinked, suddenly becoming aware of something crucial. "Why are you guys out anyone? I didn't call for you."

"We sensed your distress, and we thought you needed help," Ayame said in that soft tone of hers.

"We sensed a disturbance in your spirit energy," Lily added in.

"Now, this explains it," Hinagiku hummed, thoughtfully.

"Explains what?" Ed frowned.

"For starters," Shuno'o began. "Why Orihime's spiritual pressure appears to be constantly fluctuating."

The auburn haired girl boy just rose a confused brow. The blonde girl next to him just laughed, sheepishly. She knew he couldn't understand all this Soul Reaper and spirit stuff.

Ed's made a noise of surprise when Tsubaki suddenly zoomed in front of his face with a deep frown. Before he could snap at the tiny sprite, he cut him off.

"There better not be any dirty thoughts going through your head, you damn perverted pipsqueak!" Tsubaki accused, angrily shaking at Ed.

Ed just gaped at him with wide, stunned, disbelieving, gray eyes. Entire face turned beet red from indignation, infuriated, and embarrassment, and, at last, he exploded. "WHAT THE FUCK?! WHAT THE HELL GAVE YOU THAT IDEA? I WOULD NEVER THINK OF ANYTHING LIKE THAT! YOU STUPID FUCKING FAIRY!" he roared, his voice booming so loud, it might be heard throughout the hotel. The damn pixie always aggravated and harassed him to no end. The hairs on the back of his neck bristled with outrage.

The scarf wearing fairy didn't seem the least bit afraid of Edward's wrath, and merely scoffed. "Sure could fool me. Face it, all teenage boys are horny, drooling idiots." He glared at Ed. "And don't think you can fool me. I've seen the way you look at Orihime with those goo goo eyes of yours."

Ed sputtered. "Wh-wh-what the hell are you talking?! What goo goo eyes?!"

Tsubaki just stared at him like he was an idiot, and Orihime tilted her head in confusion. Ed had been staring at her with goo goo eyes? Like a puppy?

A vivid picture began to take shape inside her head. A small, brown puppy with Ed's hair and signature scowl gazed up at her with its fierce, beady, golden eyes. It would growl at her, eyes ablaze with anger and impatience. Though, she quickly noted his defensive posture and the way his gold orbs would have a look of kindness, passion, and determination underneath the surface. She would start to walk away, but she could hear the puppy's footsteps hesitantly following after her. She would blink and stop in surprise. The puppy would stop as well. Curiously and excitedly, she would repeat the process over and over again. After the fifth, she eyed the puppy with adoring eyes. It was just so cute! She quietly squealed and giggled at the cuteness of it all!

While Orihime continued, giggling to herself, Edward just stared at her like he just wanted to die of embarrassment. She was laughing at him! And it was all that stupid fairy's fault!

Unfortunately, the little bastard disappeared, so Ed had no one to vent his rage at. He growled, furiously, his hands clenched tightly. Next time, he was going to kill the little parasite! He swear it!

Then as swift as lightning, a spark of realization sprung inside his head. If Orihime could use her powers, then...couldn't he still perform alchemy? It was time to test this theory out.

He clapped his heads together. His entire body growing with anxiety and anticipation. If this worked, they could be on to something. An agitated sense of suspense filled the air.

He slammed his palms against the surface of the counter. After a nerve wracking split second, the familiar flash of blue light shone before his eyes. His eyes widened, astounded, and his heart thumbed with ecstatic joy. Orihime spot the flash, and her own orbs glinted with astonishment. Quickly enough, the light disappeared to reveal Ed's gaudy design taking shape around the corner and edges of the sink's counter.

"That's alchemy?" Orihime gasped, stunned, eyes slowly blinking. A happy, merry smile shone on her countenance. "You can do alchemy, Eddie!"

"Yeah!" Ed nodded, proudly. He was practically elated with excitement, satisfaction, and triumph. A large, cheeky grin was plastered on his face. "Now, this just another clue for us to return to normal."

She beamed, nodding, happily in agreement. She darted over to the transmuted sink. "I think you should change the sink back, Eddie," she said, concerned.

Ed frowned. "Why? I think it looks better like this," he boasted, cockily. "Don't you?"

"Um…" Orihime's stared at Edward's horrendous and over the top tacky design of a horned skeleton. Her blonde eyebrows furrowed, her golden eyes watered, and a sad pout formed. She turned to him, showing him her displeased and saddened face. "It makes me sad," she finally admitted, almost tearfully.

Edward turned as white as a sheet, groaning, miserably.

* * *

**(A/N: That's the end of this second chapter. Phew! Finally! Man, this chapter was **_**long**_**. Honestly, there's nothing really to say. Except… Even though Edward and Orihime have switched bodies, they still identify themselves as a male and female, respectively.**

**Leave any comments, suggestions, and questions in a review, and thanks for reading!)**


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